Attack on Titan: A Hero's Nap
by namestakem
Summary: Napoleon, also known as Nap, is well aware that he's strong. Really, really strong. But as he finds out, being strong means nothing when you can't save anyone. This is an alternate timeline that somewhat follows the original story, with several new characters and plot twists that I think of when I'm on the toilet. Eventual OCxJean. Also, spoilers for those who don't read the manga.
1. Training Days Pt 1: Call Me Nap

_Annie and Bertolt, Year 845_

Annie Leonhardt's head was a swirling cyclone of different emotions, and every one of them could be traced back to the events of the past day. Her perpetually empty face managed to hide it from most of the people who passed by, but that did nothing to help her in the slightest.

"You're sure you can still go through with it?" Bertolt asked, as if she had a choice.

She nodded, trying her hardest to compose herself. The others would be back soon, and she would have to leave soon after. She wasn't sure how she would make it through the gates and into Wall Sina's interior, but it was almost certain that her target was there.

"Are you still thinking about Marcel?" His question had an obvious answer. Of course she was thinking about Marcel. All four of them were still thinking about Marcel. But they couldn't let his death weigh them down, for doing so would mean certain failure.

"I just want this all to be over", she replied, her body present and her mind anything but.

"I feel the same way." In his own painfully awkward way, Bertolt Hoover was trying to comfort her. She felt bad about it, but it wasn't like she was forcing him to do it. Still, Annie was in no position to be receiving any sympathy from him. He had been the one to destroy the gate, after all. He knew exactly how shitty their way of life was.

"Bertolt…" Annie began slowly. "What if I find him, and he's like us?"

"That shouldn't change the plan at all", he answered with one of the most inhumane thoughts he could have possibly concocted. "As long as I can find the Coordinate, along with Reiner and-"

"That's not what I asked."

Bertolt bit his lip. "I don't know what to say. Would you rather have her do it? She's willing to."

"I wish she had died instead of Marcel" was all Annie could say in response.

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 847_

"We now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 104th Trainee Corps! I am Keith Shadis, and I had the misfortune to be assigned to train you bastards. And I'm not here to welcome you at all! Right now, you're mere cattle, fit for nothing but Titan food! In three years, we'll take you useless pieces of crap and train you. Give you the means to fight the Titans. In three years, when you stand before a Titan, will you still be food? Or will you be a noble wall, shielding the king? Or perhaps, one of humanity's glorious soldiers that slay Titans? You will decide!"

The training grounds were located in a flat, open area, but the head instructor's words still seemed to echo in the mind of the boy of thirteen years standing at the end of the formation. The youngest of his peers were merely twelve years old, while the oldest barely reached fourteen. These were the prototypical "soldiers" that the Titans had forced humanity to resort to training from the ground up. They were little more than children, youths who for the most part had never laid eyes on the horrendous creatures that they would someday have to face in battle. These boys and girls had no clue what they were truly up against, and the messy-haired boy was no exception. He did not let that notion interfere with his outward expression, however, as his ability to hide his emotions would be tested in full once Keith Shadis made his way over to him. But that would not be for a long while.

"You, there!" Shadis called to a small, blonde-haired boy near the front of the formation.

"Yes, sir!" The boy's salute was perfect, but his eyes betrayed his fear of the imposing bald man. He couldn't be blamed, as the head instructor of the 104th Trainee Corps was the closest thing to a Titan that he would see until he actually encountered one for himself.

"Who are you?" The routine question was barked out by Shadis.

The young boy trembled visibly, but managed to hold his ground long enough to answer "Armin Arlert, from Shinganshina."

The expression on the head instructor's face had not changed for even an instant throughout the introductions, but the boy in the back would remark afterwards that his own amusement reached a peak at this early point.

He had heard it all before, and he knew exactly what the instructor's objective was. His own grandfather had put him through the ringer when the boy had first told him of his intention to join the military. He had never thought the old man capable of such a thing, but then again he had barely known him prior to two years ago. The man that so many people looked up to was nothing but a stranger to his own grandson, until the events of Year 845 changed that entirely.

"Arlert, what are you doing here?" Keith Shadis bent far over until his face was pressed so close to Armin's that it looked to the boy in the back like the two of them were about to share a passionate kiss. Armin didn't hesitate on his next answer.

"Trying to aid humanity's victory!" The boy from Shinganshina barely managed to avoid falling backwards from the combined stress of belting out his answer and the intimidating Shadis breathing down his neck. The boy with the black hair almost felt sorry for him.

"That's a good answer, Armin Arlert. Then you will be food for the Titans. Row three, about face!" Shadis used a single hand to forcefully turn Armin's body, as the other trainees in his row quickly followed suit. The instructor then proceeded to the next trainee that caught his eye. This one was a boy with skin the same shade as his, with a shaved head and a grim expression. If he hadn't known any better, the trainee at the rear would have mistaken the boy for a younger version of Shadis himself. That only led the instructor to berate the unfortunate child even more.

"You there! You think you're funny? Who are you?"

The miniature Keith Shadis stuttered as he made his reply. "L-Langston Sten… I mean… Pyrite, from the Inner D-District!"

The Inner District, also known as Mitras, was the Capital of the land within the walls. The boy at the back had spent a good amount of time in the interior of Wall Sina, and had quickly grown tired of it. It was likely that Langston Pyrite had felt the same way.

"Is that some kind of joke? Why is a brat from the Inner District here?" Shadis screamed at the terrified boy, who stuttered out of sheer nervousness.

"I-I want to protect my family at all costs! I don't want the things that happened to the citizens of Shinganshina to happen to them, sir!"

"And you think you can stop that from happening? Know your place, worm! You can do nothing to stop the Titans from eating every human being left in this world, do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir! I understand!"

The boy with pitch-black hair and golden eyes had lost interest as quickly as Langston Pyrite had gained confidence.

"Row four, about face! Now listen up. I've seen some shit in my time. But you here… You maggots are the sorriest pieces of shit that I have ever seen. You're in for three years of hell, and you'll all be lucky to make it out alive."

Shadis continued onward, punishing new recruit after new recruit. The boy began to fidget against his better judgment as his boredom escalated.

"Thomas Wagner, from Trost District!" said a nervous-looking blonde boy standing near Armin.

"Mina Carolina, from Karanes!" came the answer of a cute black-haired girl.

"Victor Paulus, Klorva District!" was belted out by a trainee so incredibly short that the boy in the back couldn't even see him.

As Shadis made his rounds through the petrified trainees, it became apparent to the new recruit that the instructor was blatantly passing by several of the other newcomers. A familiar girl with blonde hair that covered one of her icy blue eyes, a brawny blonde male with a determined expression, and a smiling girl with dark brown bangs were all seemingly off the hook from the tirade of their instructor. One look into the eyes of any of these recruits gave away the reason. These three had already been through hell, and Shadis, being the former leader of the Survey Corps, understood this. His next target showed no such sentiments.

"Who are you, maggot?"

"Jean Kirstein, from Trost", the sandy-haired boy smugly replied.

The boy at the back of the last column of trainees began to chew on the inside of his cheek. It was a habit that he had attempted to break with the help of his best friend, but even she had not been able to do it. This was a failure that still haunted the both of them.

The boy watched as Shadis gave the arrogant Jean Kirstein a swift headbutt before yelling a few last words and moving to his next victim.

"Who are you, smiley? What are you doing here?"

"Marco Bott, Jinae City, Wall Rose South District!" replied the grinning freckled boy. "I want to join the Military Police, to offer the king my body in service!"

Truth be told, the golden-eyed boy was pleased that at least one of his fellow trainees was able to maintain a happy face throughout this ordeal. Of course, that was irrelevant when it came to the instructor's job.

"Good luck. However…" Shadis menacingly lowered his face to meet Marco Bott. "The king doesn't want your body." He left Marco to deal with the grin that had been wiped off his face, and proceeded to a scrawny boy with a head practically devoid of hair. "Next! Who are you?"

"Connie Springer, of Ragako Village, Wall Rose South District", said the recruit.

Connie's nearly-bald head reminded the trainee a bit of his grandfather, who had lost his hair at a fairly young age. The boy had inherited his grandfather's eyes, and he sincerely hoped that he hadn't also inherited the man's early-onset baldness. He very much liked his thick hair.

The attention of everyone present was diverted from Connie by a loud crunching noise that came from his left. The trainee turned toward the sound in time to see a brunette with her hair in a messy ponytail swallow a piece of what looked like a baked potato.

As Shadis forgot all about Connie Springer and went to deal with the potato girl, the black-haired trainee's mind wandered off on its own. Until that moment it hadn't truly sunk in, but he realized that he would never be able to return to the life that he had once known.

He hadn't been the biggest fan of life in the Inner District. There were moments when he had enjoyed himself, but overall it had been a rather dreary experience. Life in the interior could hardly be considered life, and during the eleven years that he spent there, the boy had never felt the thrill that he experienced when he finally stepped outside of Wall Sina.

It had only been two years since he left the Capital, but those two years had easily been the best ones of his young life. He had finally gotten to know his grandfather while living in the territory encompassed by Wall Rose, and the stories that the old man told had enlightened him in ways that no school ever could have. And, of course, he had met her.

He lazily gave another look toward Shadis as he towered over the potato girl, Sasha Blouse.

"Would you mind telling me what you're holding in your right hand?"

"A boiled potato. The kitchen had a fresh batch and I couldn't resist", she responded quickly, as the recruits around her, who were even more shocked than Shadis, noticed bits of it scattered over her face. Sasha was not just a rule breaker, but a terribly messy eater to boot.

The trainee used his tongue to feel the spot where he had been chewing on his cheek. He poked and prodded it as Shadis continued to be befuddled by Sasha Blouse, unable to make up his mind on whether this girl was fearless or thoughtless. He put the thought behind him, and watched as the dumbfounded instructor continued to question Sasha in a puzzled voice.

Like Connie Springer, this potato girl kept bringing the boy's thoughts back to his grandfather. It was easy to imagine him having a similar conversation with his instructor back when the old man was a trainee, but involving alcohol instead of a potato. Even in his youth, the boy's father's father had possessed an affinity for all kinds of intoxicating beverages. Luckily for him, the black-haired boy had not inherited this trait.

The eyes of the recruit at the rear and of the other trainees remained locked on Shadis and the girl as she handed him a small portion of her potato as a peace offering, and the trainee knew that something must be done if the instructor was to retain any sort of authority over them. Shadis had to regain control before he lost them for good. His response did not disappoint.

"I'll give you two options, Sasha Blouse. You can choose which one suits you best. Option one: you can finish that potato while running laps around this training ground until you pass out."

Shadis heard gasps from the trainees as they were reminded of his true nature as an instructor.

"Or, you can choose the second option, if you prefer." He stuck his hand that was holding the piece of potato into Sasha's face, and watched her eyes widen as he crushed it in his grip. "You can skip dinner."

The crowd of trainees grew silent as they awaited Sasha's response, but the boy in the back knew enough at this point to easily deduce her choice. Sasha Blouse would spend the next six hours circling the training facilities with nothing but the boiled potato in her unsatisfied belly.

One after the other, the trainees melted under the pressure of their instructor's gaze, with each one reacting differently than the last. Their names all began to blend together in the ears of the unbearably weary trainee with the eyes like twin suns.

"Hannah Diamant!"

"Nack Tius!"

"Jacob Way!"

"Jericho Grimm!"

"Christa Lenz!"

"Mylius Zermunsky!"

"Ellen Isaac!"

"Hilde Schultz!"

Eventually the exasperated Keith Shadis reached the end of the long line of trainees. The tall boy's unkempt dark hair hid a portion of the right side of his face, and the part which was visible seemed to tell Shadis that the boy wished he were doing something else, anything but standing there with the rest of the recruits. His golden eyes seemed oddly familiar to Shadis, and the look in them told him nothing about the boy's past. All in all, this recruit was rather unassuming, and it was only the fact that he was the last one that Shadis had seen that made him stand out at all. The instructor marched right up to the boy and stared him down.

"So, you have the honor of being the last peon to be dealt with today. What's your name, and where do you come from?"

The boy saluted like all of the others. He stared right back at Shadis and recited his reply as if he had done it a thousand times.

"Napoleon Pixis, Inner District, Wall Sina."

The instructor's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Pixis? As in Dot Pixis? What kind of joke are you trying to pull here?" The boy was quick with his answer once again.

"Yes, sir. Dot Pixis is my grandfather, but I'd rather not be compared to him."

Keith Shadis pondered the boy in front of him for a few seconds, before opening his mouth for all trainees present to hear. "All new recruits, head to the barracks for your room assignments. After you filthy animals have settled in, report promptly to the dining hall. You had best enjoy the food that you are given, for you will all be food when you face the Titans! Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" came the resounding reply from the trainees as they quickly scampered off in the direction of the distant group of buildings that would house them over the next three years. Shadis then turned his attention to Napoleon Pixis. Apparently, he was not quite finished with the last recruit, much to the boy's chagrin.

"So the grandson of Dot Pixis is a trainee under my instruction. Or should I say, the former grandson of Dot Pixis? From this moment on, you are nothing! You're below the dirt! You're only worthy of being stepped on by those stronger than you. I would be surprised if you even lasted the entire three years of this training. Just imagine the look on your grandfather's face when he hears about the fate that you're sure to meet. And let this be the last I ever speak of him."

With that, Shadis turned away from Napoleon and strutted off to meet with the other instructors.

Nap Pixis let out a deep sigh as soon as he could tell for certain that Shadis was out of hearing range. It had almost become second nature to him by this point to hide his emotions under stress. Keith Shadis was among the more perceptive men that the grandson of Dot Pixis had ever encountered, but Nap could tell by his reaction that even he was unaware of the knots that the thirteen year old boy had felt in his stomach when the instructor was speaking to him.

As Nap set off in the direction in which the other newly-christened trainees had gone, his stomach began to loosen as he calmed himself. That ordeal was over, and all that he needed to do until sunset was settle into his bunk and find out what grimy food was served at his quarters. The sun was nearing the end of its descent as he reached the run-down wooden shack that he would spend the next three years lodging in, if he didn't meet the end that his instructor had in mind for him.

The youths outside of the building had gradually filed inside as Nap approached, and when he finally got there, only a handful of trainees had yet to be assigned. He recognized the pair at the back of the line from their introductions, and they both turned around to meet him as he strode up on his impressively long legs. He wasn't particularly excited by the prospect of making any more friends, though he figured he could use more than the one he already had.

"Hey there! Sure took you long enough to get here, didn't it? What did the instructor chew you out over?" asked Connie Springer, casting a sly smile at the taller boy.

Nap shrugged. He wasn't exactly sure why Shadis had deemed his introductory scolding important enough that no one else could stick around to hear it, but he knew that the instructor wouldn't call the other recruits away without a reason. He put that thought in the back of his mind and confessed to Connie.

"He really didn't say anything to me that he hadn't already said. The same old crap about being less than dirt and fit only for Titan food. It all kind of blends into your ears after a while."

"It seemed like he recognized your name from somewhere", remarked the freckled boy next to Connie, Marco Bott. "Have you met him before or something?"

The golden-eyed boy figured that he would hear similar questions for the rest of the night. He wasn't exactly eager to make friends, because making friends meant revealing things that he would have rather kept hidden. There was only one person that he had shared everything with, and she was the one that he trusted with his life.

"I've never personally met him", was all he had to say, and while the other boys continued to trade questions with him, he never gave them too much information. That just wasn't his way.

_Nap, Year 847_

He entered the dining hall late that evening, once again arriving after most of the other trainees. The food on his tray was far more bland than the stuff that he was used to, but he knew that he would come to get used to it over the next three years of his life. He scanned the room for a few seconds before taking a seat next to the only truly familiar face in the room.

Annie curtly acknowledged his presence, which was about what Nap had come to expect from her after the two years that he had known her. The blonde girl always preferred to let her actions speak for her, and the first day of training hadn't changed her one bit. Still, she was the first real friend that Nap had made outside of Wall Sina, and both knew how much they had in common.

"You're late." If nothing else, Annie was direct with what little speech she chose to give. "I thought you were aware of how much I hate interacting with these people." She ripped a piece of bread off in her mouth, and turned away from Nap to stare nastily at the table in front of her.

Nap had always found Annie's cold outer shell to be ironically comforting. While other people steered clear of her thanks to her bitter external attitude, Nap was one of a special few that Annie had allowed to grow close to her. Still, there was a lot that he didn't know about Annie's past, and there was just as much that she didn't know about his. Other than that, though, he told her everything. She was the only person he could be totally honest with.

"You know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to actually talk to someone other than me for a change", Nap suggested halfheartedly, though he himself had no desire to do so. "I know how much you like a challenge. That sounds like it would be a good test, wouldn't you say?"

"I'd rather not take a test that I know I'll fail, thank you. I thought you knew me better than that, Nap." Annie did have a point. As much as she loved a challenge, she disliked coming out on the short end of it. Annie had always pushed herself to the limits and overcome them. That much had become clear to Nap over the past two years. Ever since Annie had appeared in his life by chance, he had admired her tenacity. Though she didn't always show it on the outside, Annie was a fierce and competitive person. Nap still had yet to beat her in a fight.

Nap's eyes searched the room as he absentmindedly chewed his own piece of bread. Most of the tables were sparsely populated due to the large crowd surrounding one near the center of the room. He noticed Marco toward the edge of the pack, and easily recognized the voice of Connie Springer coming from the very front of it. After a few seconds, Nap caught the general topic of conversation. A boy from Shinganshina was being hounded for information about the Titans that had destroyed the walls, and he seemed to be eating up every second of fame he could get. Nap turned his head to Annie, who didn't give the slightest impression that she was hearing any of it, but he knew better than that.

Nap had never seen a Titan up close, and he had never been truly afraid of the beasts that lurked outside the walls. Even when his grandfather brought him to the top of Wall Rose to look down on the monsters, they hadn't upset the boy any more than the alcohol that the old man had offered him. To him, they were nothing more than an obstacle.

That being said, he didn't expect his career in the military to be an easy one. After living in the midst of the Garrison during the past two years, he understood just how much of a threat the Titans were to humanity, more so than most of the other trainees. There was still a lot that Nap didn't know about the Titans, but that wouldn't stop him from achieving his goals.

"I'm going to join the Survey Corps and exterminate all of the Titans in this world!" the boy said sadistically. "I'm gonna slaughter them!"

"Hey, what are you, crazy?" An obnoxiously loud voice came from an adjacent table, and Nap turned to see the brash sandy-haired boy from before, Jean Kirstein, leering amusedly at the hidden Shinganshina boy. "Did you just say you were gonna join the Survey Corps?"

Nap listened to the two boys exchange insults with each other as he noticed Annie glancing at another table, only a short distance away from the one where the Shinganshina boy was seated. The only occupants of the table were two boys, one of them bulky and blonde, the other one lanky and timid-looking. Nap was pulled away by another escalation of the ongoing feud.

Having had enough, the boy swiftly rose from the table and stared down Jean Kirstein. For the first time, Nap had a good look at the owner of the voice, and recognized him as one of the recruits that Shadis had passed over during the introductions. Being from Shinganshina, it made sense that he would have been put through a hellish life already.

"What are you saying about me?" the boy asked, emanating his inner Keith Shadis. The boy's fiery green eyes drilled into the rising Jean Kirstein, who strode coolly up to him.

"Come on, now", Jean said, trying to tame the wild beast that he was close to awakening. "It makes no difference to me. I'm sorry; I don't mean to dismiss your ideas. Let's be friends. Jean Kirstein." He held his hand out for the shorter boy, who considered it for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. Eren Jaeger", he said, slapping Jean's hand and walking out the door of the dining hall just as the curfew bell sounded outside.

Quickly losing interest in that affair, Nap turned back to Annie only to realize that his friend had already left the room. He was ready to pick up his tray and head out when he noticed a girl walking toward him from the direction of Eren Jaeger's table. Her black hair and gray eyes glistened in the dim light of the room, and she smiled warmly as she sat down next to Nap and introduced herself.

"Hey, I couldn't help but notice you were sitting here alone. I'm Mina", said the girl, reaching her hand out to Nap while he adjusted on the bench to shake it.

He had no idea why this girl had bothered to acknowledge him, but he figured he would at least do her the courtesy of introducing himself before he followed Annie's lead and left for the night.

"My name's Napoleon, but it's ridiculously inconvenient. Call me Nap."

Mina chuckled lightly. "Napoleon, huh? What's the story behind that name?"

"My father was tired of all of the men in his family having short names. His father was named Dot, and he was Stan. I guess I've disappointed him in that regard, but it's not like he's around to criticize me." Nap was shocked that he had revealed that much already to this girl, though from what he saw on her face she didn't think anything of it.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Nap", Mina said as she rose to her feet, and Nap automatically did the same. She was a good deal shorter than him, as were most people his age. Nap was by no means freakishly tall, but his long legs may have helped him appear that way.

"Yeah, same. I'm not the best at making friends, so it's great to meet someone nice like you. The only reason I haven't been alone this entire time is thanks to Annie."

Mina looked disappointed to hear this. "Oh, you two are old friends? That's good to hear." She brightened up quickly, of course. "I'll see you tomorrow at the Maneuver Gear aptitude test, Nap", she said, bidding him goodbye with a quick wave. Nap followed a few steps behind her.

He passed by Jean and Connie on his way out of the building, and he walked down the dirt path as slowly as his legs could possibly carry him. His first day as a trainee had passed, and though he had spent the past two years preparing for this day, it had still hit him hard enough to make him feel completely and utterly exhausted. He chewed on his cheek some more as he walked.

Nap Pixis hadn't become a soldier because he was trying to save face. The choice had been his and his alone. Every decision he had made during the two years since he left Mitras had been made with only a singular goal in mind. It was a goal that he had inherited from his mother.

He was going to be humanity's savior.


	2. Training Days Pt 2: Why are You Here?

_Annie and Reiner, Year 847_

"I never thought you were the type of girl to sneak out late at night with a boy, Annie."

"I never thought you were the type of boy who was into girls, Reiner."

Her patience was wearing thin, but it was important for the two of them to catch up. Annie had located her target, but from the looks of things, the other three hadn't yet found the Coordinate.

"Easy, I was only joking", Reiner said, a little too innocently for someone who was responsible for thousands of deaths. "What's got you so riled up?"

"I'm taking a risk just by talking to you", replied Annie. "Now is there anything I need to know?"

It was still their first night as trainees, and the two of them had found it relatively easy to sneak out. If any of the instructors or other trainees caught them, they could have always said that they were meeting for different reasons, and let everyone think whatever nasty thoughts they wanted.

"You're starting to worry me." The tall boy shook his head disapprovingly. "Don't tell me you actually went and made friends with that boy. You remember why you're here, don't you?"

"You don't have to lecture me", she said sharply. "I know what I'm doing."

"I'm beginning to think we should have let her take your place after all."

"Then why don't you go complain to her about it? I'll even let you in there myself."

With an angry sigh, Reiner finally got down to business.

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 847_

"We'll begin your training with the aptitude tests", Shadis shouted. "Those who fail at this test are not even fit to serve as bait for the Titans. They'll be sent back to the fields!"

If Nap was at all concerned about the test, he didn't show it as he was hoisted up by the two cables fastened to the belt at his waist. The balance had not come naturally to Nap, but he had worked hard and improved by leaps and bounds. It helped that he was an enthusiastic tinkerer, and his old gear had been constantly altered, over his time learning from his grandfather, based on his intuition and preferences at the time.

He had constantly been reminded how lucky he was to have a grandfather like Dot Pixis, and he had certainly been appreciative of the old man, but Nap hadn't truly realized why he was so fortunate until that moment. The other trainees were learning how to use Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear for the first time, but he already had plenty of experience.

Nap was able to easily hang in the gear as the instructors surveyed the trainees. To his right, Connie, Jean and the potato girl all looked like naturals. To his left, Eren Jaeger was not quite so lucky. The boy who had talked so boldly the previous night about slaying Titans in the Survey Corps was getting a face full of dirt and an ear full of Keith Shadis. Nap couldn't help but feel bad for the kid, but on the other hand, he was only getting what he deserved after boasting about his prowess the night before. Elsewhere, Marco took a bad tumble on his first attempt, but learned his lesson and stayed balanced on his second try. Mina seemed to get the hang of it after a shaky start. Annie had no problem staying upright in midair, as Nap would have expected. She had been almost as proficient as him, after all.

_Nap and Eren, Year 847_

"Please, you have to help me! I heard you were really good", Eren Jaeger pleaded. He had dragged Nap out behind the dining hall that evening, much to Annie's secretive amusement. He still wore a bandage on his head, courtesy of his earlier failures with the aptitude test. As a contrast to last night, his table had been deserted other than him and two friends.

Nap didn't know how to help him. It had taken him a good chunk of time to master the gear, albeit at a younger age. He considered the boy in front of him for a moment before speaking. He would have to take a different approach.

"Why are you here?" The question understandably seemed to catch Eren off-guard. "Why is it that you chose to fight and slay the Titans even after seeing what they're capable of? You're not like me. You know just how terrifying they are up close."

The shorter boy's eyebrows furrowed. Nap saw an even deeper fire than when he had witnessed him confronting Jean the previous night. "I decided I had to kill them. Simple as that. I have to kill all of the Titans with my own hands." Nap tried to speak up, but Eren wasn't finished. "I know what you're going to say. Believe me, I've heard it plenty of times, but I'm not going to listen. I'm not going to give up."

Nap gave a relieved nod. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. If that's the attitude you came in here with, there's no reason to change anything. Just make sure that you're not getting ahead of yourself." Nap turned to stare at the distant Wall Rose on the horizon. He wasn't used to being the one giving advice, but he figured he would make it up as he went along like his grandfather did. "You know your own limits better than anyone else does and if you keep insisting on breaking them down, well… You're going to find out what it truly means to be human."

Eren nodded, but he was still puzzled. "How does this relate to my aptitude test?"

Nap turned back to him and gave an awkward but reassuring look. "Your aptitude with the Maneuver Gear isn't the only thing that makes you a soldier." He put out a fist and knocked it against Eren's chest a couple of times. "This is just as important. I can say with certainty that you have the will of a soldier. My grandfather told me that if the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails. Your guts are your hammer. Make sure everything is in place, and get ready to pound some nails come tomorrow. You want this more than anyone. That alone gives you strength, Eren Jaeger."

It was complete bullshit, but from the looks of things, the boy was buying into it. Eren nodded and smiled back at Nap, his eyes lighting up again. "Thanks, I know exactly what I need to do now. You've been a big help. Napoleon Pixis, right?"

"Just call me Nap", he said, scratching his jet-black hair with his left hand. Nap wasn't sure how exactly he had managed to help him, and he truly wondered if Eren was actually any better off after hearing what he had to say, but he was all out of advice for the Shinganshina boy.

The two boys said their goodbyes, and Nap turned to leave as Eren stood deep in thought. Turning the corner of the dining hall building, Nap ran headfirst into another trainee. Both of them fell to the dirt, and Nap quickly rushed to his feet, offering to help the embarrassed girl up.

Her shoulder-length hair was the same sleek black tone as his, and her gray eyes looked like endless pools that he could easily drown in if he stared too long. Nap recognized the dazzling beauty as one of the two trainees loyal enough to console Eren even after his brutal failure that day. Brushing himself off, he began apologizing.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't-"

"Save it, I'm fine." The girl cut him off effortlessly. "Where's Eren?"

"He's… Around back. Just standing there", Nap managed to get out, and without another word, the girl flew by him. Not stopping to think why, he swiftly grabbed her arm and spun her around. "You're not even going to introduce yourself? We're going to be comrades for the rest of our lives. The least you could do is tell me your name." He reached his hand out one more time. "I'm Nap Pixis."

The girl glared at him, but complied with his request. It wasn't a hostile glare, so much as it was a protective glare. "Mikasa Ackerman. Is that good enough for you?" Nap nodded, pleased that he had a name to go with a face that was unlike all but one face he had seen before. With that, Mikasa Ackerman turned and trudged off after Eren. "Stay away from him" was all that Nap heard as he lost her in the night.

He wasn't usually one to actively pursue friendships, but his gut was telling him that Mikasa Ackerman would prove to be a valuable ally.

Nap returned to the bustling interior of the dining hall to find Mina sitting across from Annie, talking as if she made a living off of it. His old friend wore the same bored expression on her face, but he could tell that she was at least listening to and acknowledging the other girl. They both greeted him as he sat down next to Annie and began to finish his dinner, all while recounting his conversation with Eren.

"He certainly says the right things", Annie sighed after he had finished. "He has a lot of courage. I respect that. He may just be an idiot, but…"

Nap and Mina looked quizzically at her as she trailed off, and none of the three said anything for a long while after. The bell eventually sounded outside, and the recruits filed out of the dining hall and went to prepare for the next morning. This would be the last chance for recruits like Eren to pass the test. Nap didn't even want to know what the boy would do if he failed.

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 847_

Minutes after the break of dawn, the trainees were called down to the same dusty field that had been the location of their aptitude tests the previous day. This would be the last chance for the recruits that had botched the test the day before, as another such failure would land them on the first wagon back to the fields. A confident Eren was the first to be called up by Shadis, holding an incredibly determined look in his eyes as the towheaded trainee Thomas Wagner hoisted him up. Nap immediately noticed that Eren looked much more comfortable than the day before, but after a few moments of relief at finally accomplishing the task, both Eren's thoughts and his body took a mean tumble, and next thing he knew, he was face-first in the dirt once again.

As Nap chewed the inside of his cheek, Eren gripped the rocky terrain beneath him and attempted to prop himself up again. "N-not yet! I can still do it!"

Nap could hear the trainees around him begin to snicker just like the day before. Apparently, failure was some sort of joke to them. Knowing how determined Eren was, it made Nap sick. After a few moments, Shadis mercifully ended the boy's misery with a quick word to Thomas.

Eren fell to his hands and knees, panting, as he dejectedly stared at the ground in front of him. Nap took a quick glance at Mikasa, standing a few feet from him, and if he hadn't known any better he would have thought that he saw the faintest feeling of relief in her stoic eyes, all while Eren's began to tear up.

"Wagner", Shadis addressed the Trost native who had assisted Eren. "Switch belts with Jaeger."

Though he was clearly surprised by the request, Thomas quickly complied, but after the exchange was made, Shadis snatched Eren's old belt away from the nervous boy. He shifted the item in his hands, looking the thing over as he nodded to himself, confirming his belief.

"Your equipment was defective. The belt you were using had a broken clasp", the bald man explained to Eren as he nodded at Wagner to lift him again. "I've never heard of this part breaking before. I guess we'll have to add it to the maintenance checklist."

"Then, even with broken equipment, he still managed to…" As stunned as any other recruit, Nap couldn't help but be impressed. Though it had only been for a few seconds, Eren had managed to hang in the air with a defective belt just as well as any other.

"Th-then…" Eren struggled with his words as he wobbled around, barely managing to hold himself upright. "Am I fit to be a soldier?"

Shadis eyed him closely for a moment before nodding. "I can't say that for certain yet, but you have passed this test. Train hard."

Nap couldn't help but notice a tinge of disappointment on Mikasa's face while Eren threw his arms in the air and celebrated.

_Nap, Annie, and Mina, Year 847_

That night, another new face showed up at Nap and Annie's dinner table. The trainee meekly took a seat next to Mina before putting out a shaking hand in introduction.

"L-Langston Pyrite", the wheat-skinned boy squeaked, a genuine smile lighting up his face. On the surface, he may have looked like a young Keith Shadis, but his character and mannerisms could not have been more different from those of the instructor.

Mina, Nap, and finally a begrudging Annie tossed out greetings to the boy, whose confidence seemed to grow the longer the conversation lasted.

"Pyrite, huh?" Nap recalled the name from earlier. "You were one of the guys who had to retake the aptitude test today, right?"

Langston nodded sullenly. "Yeah, I really didn't know what I was signing up for. I joined the military because of some stupid sense of duty that I felt to the human race, but I regretted it quickly. Growing up in Mitras, I never imagined the training would be like this."

Mina's eyebrows rose. "You're from the Inner District? And you still chose to enlist?"

"I didn't have a very popular opinion." Langston's voice grew softer as he replied. "My mother shunned the idea of her son joining the military, and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I made up my mind to do it anyway." His head rolled back as he sighed. "She must be worried sick. I know it would take a miracle to get her to leave the Inner District, but I still wish she could see that I'm okay. Actually, thinking about her is what got me so distracted that I failed my first test. Clearing my mind was all I needed to do in order to barely pass the second one."

Mina put a friendly, comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she knows that you're just following the path that you've chosen." Nap couldn't look away from her eyes as she spoke. He had only known her for a few days, and he was already captivated. "I sometimes worry about my family back in Karanes, but I know they're supporting me. I want to do my best for them."

Langston's face reddened as he turned his attention to the table in front of him. Annie broke the silence after a few seconds, barely lifting her blank face.

"Just make sure you're ready", her voice came softly. "The Titans aren't going to care about your sad story. All they're going to be interested in is how good you taste when you're going down their throats. You can have all the motivation in the world and it won't matter if you're not properly prepared to face them, both mentally and physically."

Nap nodded solemnly. "That's why we're here, isn't it?"

_Nap, Year 849_

He could see it through the thick branches of the forest. The Dummy Titan was a few meters away, slightly to his right. To his left, he could make out Jean's obnoxious voice echoing through the dense woods, and he knew that Connie would not be far behind. Now was the time to act.

Nap burst into the clearing, letting his momentum carry him toward the thin wooden structure that wouldn't have fooled a blind man into thinking that it was a real Titan. The strip on the back of its neck, the weak spot of the Titans and the only area in which a killing blow could be dealt, was marked as a target in this practice, but on an actual Titan it would have been indistinguishable from the rest of the body. Nap struck at the spot with his twin blades, a split second before Jean materialized through the trees. Nap's shot was as deep as could be, slicing cleanly through the nape of the dummy's neck. He heard Jean utter a curse from behind him as he made a much smaller dent in the dummy's neck than Nap had.

Through his first two years as a trainee, Nap had been nearly flawless. The training he had gone through with Dot Pixis had put him in the perfect position to succeed. But not even flawlessness and perfection were enough to beat Mikasa Ackerman.

This training lasted for a good portion of the day. As the rookies returned to the training grounds in the deep orange light of the setting sun, Nap caught a glimpse of Annie being spoken to by a pair of unreasonably tall boys, both of whom he recognized but neither of whom he had spoken to very much over the past two years. Curious, considering that Annie had exchanged few lines of dialogue with anyone other than him, Langston, or Mina since their enlistment, Nap broke from the main group of trainees to wander off in their direction.

"…Remember why you're here, Annie", said Reiner Braun. His comrade, the dark-haired beanpole Bertolt Hoover, noticed Nap approaching and made an effort to calm the other boy. They both stood in silence as Napoleon Pixis moved toward them. Reiner then put on a brotherly smile and put up a hand in greeting.

"You should come around more often, Nap." It was only at this that Annie finally turned around and met the gaze of her old friend. "Annie just finished telling us about your history."

Nap slapped the outstretched hand of Reiner, and did the same to Bertolt.

"Nap, when you introduced yourself, you told Shadis that you were from the Inner District, right?" Reiner seemed to forget about whatever he had been saying to Annie.

"That's right", Nap returned, surprised he remembered after so long. Reiner and Bertolt stood analyzing him for a few moments before the taller boy stepped forward.

"Annie told us that the two of you met in a refugee camp. If you were born in Mitras, why were you among the people fleeing Wall Maria?"

Nap brushed his hair back with his left hand. It normally wasn't much of a burden during training, but on his off-time it would occasionally cling to his forehead in irritating fashion. "I left the Inner District two years ago, under some circumstances that I'd rather not talk about." The two boys looked startled, but continued to eagerly listen. Annie, of course, already knew all about his past, and kept her usual uninterested look.

"Let's just say I didn't really have a home there any more. My grandfather, Dot Pixis, had been required to move his station back to Wall Rose after the Titans broke through in Shinganshina, so he sent a few of his men to retrieve me and bring me to him. Long story short, I ditched them for a few hours, and that's when I met Annie. We've been companions ever since."

That was the least-detailed account of the event that Nap could have possibly given.

Nap briefly thought back to his time living with his grandfather. How the old man had often taken the boy to the top of Wall Rose and sipped from his flask as they gazed together at the outside world and the Titans beneath them. He remembered the comforting words that Dot Pixis had given him after he threw up over the side of the wall. Those words stuck with him even today.

"They're not frightened of you. So why in the world should you be frightened of them?"

Reiner interrupted Nap's thoughts with a pat on the shoulder. "I guess you're not like some of these other trainees after all. The ones that are only here to save face. No, you know exactly why you're here. I'm glad I've finally gotten to know you better, Nap Pixis."

This time it was Nap you held out a hand and Reiner who gave it a smack. "You too, Reiner Braun. Bertolt Hoover."

Unnoticed by the boys, Annie Leonhardt seemed to grow more annoyed as the conversation went on.

_Nap, Year 850_

Even after three years, Nap still had not dropped his cheek-chewing habit. Even as he stood at the end of the first row of trainees, his eyes did not show a single emotion. And even though he was about to begin the next phase of his life, he was not afraid.

Nap glanced down at the bold red shirt that he wore under his trainee jacket. His graduation night had finally arrived, and after a few more words from Keith Shadis and the other instructors, he would not see many of his comrades ever again.

Standing among the top ten of his class, Nap couldn't help but feel at least a small sense of accomplishment. He knew his journey was far from over, but he had made it through the current step and become stronger because of it. It had been a hard-fought battle until the end, but he had surpassed Mikasa and become the top-ranked graduate in their class, though Shadis had admitted to the two of them that they were almost completely even. The girl who stood next to Nap was still as much of a mystery as ever. Her devotion to Eren was obvious, and it reminded Nap of his own loyalty to Annie, but it was hard to tell just who Mikasa Ackerman really was.

He turned to stare at Annie, standing just on the other side of Mikasa. She had ended up third in their class, and he hadn't expected anything less. Nap's best friend of five years looked absolutely diminutive standing next to Reiner and Bertolt, who had finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Nap had never gotten to know them very well, but that didn't matter to him. He would fight just as hard for them as he would for anyone, even Annie.

Past the two towering boys was Jean, who wasn't exactly the most well-liked of the trainees. Nap had only had a few legitimate conversations with the Military Police-bound boy, but he had always seen a good deal of potential in the Trost native. Jean had become nearly as proficient with his Maneuver Gear as Nap and Annie, and he and his best friend Marco, who had placed seventh in their class, were more than prepared for life in the interior.

Nap shifted his attention past Jean and Marco, focusing now on the eighth-ranked graduate of their talent-rich class. Out of all of the trainees, Langston Pyrite had probably grown the most during their three years, both physically and mentally. At the start of their training, he had been shorter than Armin, but now he was taller than Jean. Langston had matured as a soldier and as a human being, and Nap knew he was ready to take on the world.

Rounding out the top ten were Connie and Sasha, neither of whom Nap had bothered to get to know well at all. He didn't see much of a point, anyway. They just weren't his type of people. But that didn't mean he wouldn't fight for them just like he fought for everyone else.

Even outside of the top graduates, there was a high level of talent among the members of the 104th Trainee Corps. Thomas, Ymir, Victor, Hilde, and Christa, to name a few, would have all been worthy of spots in the top ten in most other years, as Shadis had told Nap and Mikasa a few days earlier. Their class simply had an unprecedented amount of talented trainees.

One of the trainees who had failed to make the top ten was Eren Jaeger, but he didn't seem at all phased. Nap had known from the start that the boy from Shinganshina had no desire to join the Military Police. The determination that emanated from Eren had rubbed off on every one of his comrades, and he had even convinced some to join the Survey Corps along with him.

Standing between the fiery-eyed Eren and the incredibly short Victor was Armin, the boy who had been Eren's best friend since childhood. Nap had barely spoken to the timid boy during the first year, but the two of them had gotten to know each other fairly well when they were assigned to spend a week together in the woods. The golden-eyed boy admired Armin's intellectual prowess, and in a way he reminded Nap a good deal of Annie.

The biggest wildcard of them all was one of the trainees who had been passed over by Shadis on their first day. From the looks of her, Miranda Sieyes didn't seem like someone who had been through hell. She was constantly smiling contentedly and loafing around, and she didn't seem to care at all about her grades. Nap didn't know her all that well, but she seemed to have still become fairly proficient. Jean had dubbed her the "Invisible Soldier" because of her tendency to disappear at times during training, only to come back at the end just to say she participated.

Nap's heartbeat hastened as he looked over his left shoulder at Mina, positioned between the towheaded Thomas and the absent-minded Miranda. He knew how childish his feelings for her may have seemed, but he couldn't help himself. Every day that he spent with her was more enjoyable than the last and though he hadn't confessed his feelings to her, or anyone else but Annie, they had been surprisingly difficult for him to hide.

His tongue explored the inside of his cheek as the rest of Nap's body remained perfectly still. It wouldn't be long now. He still had no idea if he was ready, but he knew that regardless of how he felt, he would do it, because he had no other option. He would be a savior.


	3. Attack on Trost Pt 1: Hell of a Show

_Nap, Year 850_

"Hey, where did Bertolt go off to?"

"He's probably just slacking off, knowing him."

"You're one to talk, Miranda."

Miranda Sieyes' silky brown hair flapped in the wind as she giggled at her own expense. She had a reputation among the trainees as a loafer, but that didn't appear to bother her one bit.

"You don't have to be so serious all the time, Nap", she groaned, turning her head back to the mounted cannon that she was supposed to be cleaning. "Where's the fun in living like that?"

"I think you should both shut up and get to work", snapped Ymir from a few paces to their left. The freckles on her tanned face stood out prominently with her hair tied back and the midday sun beaming down on her. She shook her head in dismay. "I can't believe I had to leave my Christa for you turds."

Miranda snickered at the insult. Nap ignored it and returned to his maintenance of the cannons. The only sounds to be heard were the ones caused by the calm breeze atop the fifty-meter wall.

"Finished!" shouted a triumphant Miranda as she stood up to take a final gander at her handiwork.

"About time you actually put some work in", Mylius muttered from underneath the cannon to her right. His ashy hair was drenched in sweat from the day's toil.

Miranda grinned mischievously. "Not exactly. Come look."

The other four members of the squad gathered around the lanky girl as she crossed her arms in front of her and gazed in gloating admiration at what she had accomplished.

The incredibly short Victor was the first to awkwardly react to the work of art that lay before them. "Um… Is that…?"

"Yep!" answered Miranda proudly. She twirled about the small knife that she had used to carve the intricate picture of Keith Shadis onto the cannon's frame, complete with a disproportionately large head and steam coming out of his nostrils like an angry bull.

Nap and Ymir sighed and went back to business. Mylius followed them shortly, while Victor remained transfixed by the masterpiece of procrastination. The clouds swirled overhead as the sun moved westward.

Deep down, Nap was glad that Miranda was there to ease the mood. The past three years had been beyond stressful for the 218 trainees who had made it through and no one had felt it more than him. No matter how many perfect scores he had achieved in training, he remained doubtful of himself. Was there truly a way for him to achieve his destiny and save humanity from the Titans? He wasn't sure. But he knew that the four people surrounding him, the four brothers and sisters that he had bonded with during their three years of hell, would help him through it. He hadn't gotten to know them all that well, but that didn't matter to him one bit.

Nap bit his lip as he gazed out into the distance at the lush green hills that rolled out as far as the eye could see beyond Wall Rose. He was going to do it, and every single trainee present was going to see him do it. He wouldn't let a single one of them die on him, not if he could help it. What kind of savior would he be if he just allowed people he cared about to bite the dust?

These were the thoughts that crossed Nap's mind as a bolt of lightning flashed to his right.

Thirty or so meters away from where he and his squad were on wall-cleaning duty, a gigantic skinless head had appeared, looking over the wall and into the city of Trost. The head was attached to the body of a muscular Titan far larger than any Nap had seen outside of the wall.

Before he or any of his fellow trainees could make a move, the whole world shook as the Colossal Titan once again blasted down humanity's gate with a mighty kick.

Nap was shocked to his core by the impact of the enormous Titan's thunderous blast, and he along with the rest of his team was knocked backwards off of the wall. If they hadn't been wearing their Maneuver Gear, the fall would have killed them instantly, but as it was, all five of them managed to hitch themselves to the outer wall of Trost and plant their feet firmly on the side of it. After he had taken time to collect himself, he heard Victor's voice coming from his left.

"Nap! What do we do? The Titans are going to enter the city!"

Victor's statement only conveyed that which was totally obvious, but it did its job in jolting Nap to action. This was the moment that he had prepared for.

"Mounted Cannon Maintenance Squad Six!" Nap shouted to the others. "Fall back! The wall has been breached, and the Colossal Titan Response Operation is probably being started as we speak! We need to get back to headquarters as fast as we can!"

Nap talked a big game, but there was no way he could have asked the people by his side to fight the Colossal Titan. He wouldn't risk sending his friends into a deathtrap like that. Had he been alone, however…

_Nap, Year 850_

The scene at HQ was absolute madness. Nap witnessed even the most experienced soldiers bumbling around in a panicked state of frenzy, most of them concerned only with keeping their own lives. Miranda yawned as she replenished her fuel, and at the other end of the supply room, Eren attempted to calm down a terrified Armin as Mikasa looked on. It took several minutes of frantic searching for Nap to finally locate his best friend near the back of the dimly lit room.

"Annie! Are you okay?" His oldest friend was one of the few people privileged enough to ever hear genuine concern in his voice. She turned to stare blankly at him, but he could see her visibly trembling.

"Does it make a difference? Whether or not I'm okay, that doesn't change the fact that the Titans are in the city. That's what you should be worried about, Nap."

She lowered her head so that the hair on the right side of her face formed a shield in front of her usually blank countenance. It was an old trick, and Nap didn't fall for it.

"Annie, how could I not be worried about you? I don't know exactly what it is." He took a step forward and swiftly embraced the petite girl. "But I know that you have a history with the Titans. And I want you to know that I'll prot-"

Annie clenched her fist and knocked a steaming uppercut into Nap's chin. He stumbled back, his jaw roaring with pain, doubling over as Annie calmly walked away.

"I never needed you to protect me."

Nap regained his composure, and took solace in the fact that the two of them both knew that that was a lie.

_Commander Pixis, Year 850_

"H-hey, wait, Pixis! Wait just a minute! I forbid you to leave!" The panicking Lord Balto waddled after the bald Commander. "Assemble your troops immediately and defend my domain!"

Dot Pixis stopped and about-faced, addressing the noble for one last time. The Commander and his subordinates, Anka and Gustav, had just moments ago been informed of the Colossal Titan's appearance in Trost. Thus, his chess match with the man in front of him had been cut just a bit short. Nap's grandfather was quickly losing his patience, but not his composure.

"Lord Balto. As we speak, soldiers in Trost are risking their lives in battle."

Anka appeared beside her superior. "Commander, I will ready the horses."

Pixis put a hand on her shoulder as she walked by him. "Don't, Anka. I have another task for you." He nodded at Gustav, and the tall man proceeded at once to carry out the operation. Pixis turned to the chestnut-haired woman. "Anka, I want you to go on ahead of us. As fast as you can. Don't stop for anything. Don't stop until you find Nap. I need to see him one last time before one of us foolishly gets himself killed." Anka nodded and ran off after Gustav, and Pixis turned his attention to the sweating aristocrat who still had not given up.

"Now, I presume many lives are being lost", Pixis continued. "Right now, at this very moment."

"Insignificant lives, I'm sure!" Balto retorted. "Forget about them. Your presence there won't change anything anyway. You continuously lose to me in our tabletop skirmishes!"

"Fear not, Your Lordship", replied Pixis with a wry smile that he had been saving for this moment. "Against the Titans, I will have no need to lose on purpose. Now, Lord Balto, have another pleasant and peaceful day as always." With that, Dot Pixis turned his back on the lord for good.

"Wait! Come back! Pixis!" cried the desperate man to no avail.

"Why did you send Anka to find Nap, Commander?" Gustav asked as Pixis approached him.

"You mean, why did I send her instead of you?" The old man twirled his facial hair with one finger. "That boy needs a woman's touch. He's always been a bit too stoic for my taste."

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 850_

"As practiced, you will now split into your squads and perform resupply, message relay, and Titan-clearing duties under the command of the Garrison!" The heavily-bearded Captain Kitts Verman laid out the plan for the greenhorn soldiers in front of him. The members of the 104th Trainee Corps were about to go into battle against the Titans for the first time in their young lives, but even the experienced Verman echoed their feelings of dread. "The Garrison's intercept squad will take the vanguard! The trainees, led by the support squad, will take the middle guard! The Garrison's elite squads will take up the rear guard. Additionally, I've received word that the advance team has been wiped out. The outer gate has been breached, and the Titans have been allowed inside! In other words, the Armored Titan could very well appear again and demolish the inner gate at any time!"

The hubbub among the distraught trainees reached its pinnacle as they imagined the disaster that the destruction of Wall Rose would bring. Most of them had families in the territory within the wall that would be in danger if the Titans broke through. Nap wasn't quite as worried about his loved ones. Dot Pixis, Anka, and Gustav would not die so easily, nor would Annie Leonhardt.

"Quiet!" Verman nervously hushed the crowd. "The vanguard is currently engaged with the enemy! The defense operation has but one objective: to defend Wall Rose until the citizens have finished evacuating! Also, as I'm sure you're all well aware, desertion is punishable by death! Be prepared to lay down your lives for the sake of humanity! Dismissed!"

A shoddy salute was given by the 104th Trainee Corps as they were sent off to their premature deaths. Even after all of the training that they had undergone in preparation for moments such as the present one, Nap's comrades could do nothing but add to the pandemonium caused by the Colossal Titan.

"Why today? I would've been on my way to the interior tomorrow…" Jean lamented to Bertolt, before rising to his feet and storming away angstily. He passed a pair of recruits huddled against the wall, heads in hands, before running directly into the last person he wanted to see.

"Move!" he yapped to Eren Jaeger, shoving him aside furiously. The shorter boy grabbed his arm and swung him around in response.

"Hey, Jean! What's wrong?"

"'What's wrong?' That's easy for you to say, you suicidal bastard!"

As she approached the two of them, Mikasa's contempt for Jean rose exponentially until she was abruptly spun around by her shoulder. She aggressively brushed the hair out of her eyes and looked up to see Nap Pixis standing in front of her.

"What was that for?" Mikasa asked, annoyed.

Nap narrowed his eyes as he studied her. "You were going to protect Eren?" Though it was worded like a question, it was spoken as a statement of fact.

"And what does that have to do with you? Eren doesn't need-"

"Eren doesn't need what? My help? If he doesn't need my help, why would he need yours?"

"You don't know what we've been through together. He needs-"

"Did you ever stop to ask what he wanted?"

Mikasa had run out of words, and stood staring coldly at Nap. Though they were on opposite sides in this particular scenario, he couldn't help but sympathize with her. Nap had acted the same way toward Annie, after all. He took the chance to reason with her some more.

"Eren went through the same hell that you went through. He's not as talented as you, but he made it through. He's got more guts than you could ever imagine. If there's anyone who doesn't need your protection, it's Eren." He searched for any sign of understanding in her eyes. Instead, she pulled her red scarf over her face and continued toward the still-arguing Eren and Jean.

"You know, we're a lot alike", Nap yelled out after her.

"Pixis!" an unknown voice called from behind. Nap turned to see a short, light-haired woman looking at him with crossed arms and a terrifying frown. "I need you to join the rear guard. Special orders. Come with me."

Nap was taken aback at this sudden request, but he was never one to let his emotions get the better of him. "I'm sorry, but I can't comply with that request. I'm a Squad Leader, and my team-"

"I don't care. The evacuation is behind schedule, and we need all of the skilled soldiers that we can get. I assumed you would know your role when it comes to following orders, but clearly I-"

"Rico!" A lofty man jogged toward the two of them. "Pixis will remain in the middle guard with the rest of the trainees. I've requested help from Ackerman instead."

Nap looked behind the man, and sure enough Mikasa had begun departing with the remainder of the Garrison. Rico took a resentful look at him before following along with the man. Forcefully shaking off his jitters, Nap approached the closest trainee in the area, Eren, and together they set off to rendezvous with their squad.

_Squad 34, Year 850_

"Hey, Armin", Eren called to his friend, standing adjacent to him on the roof. The fragile boy was quivering slightly, but held a determined look in his sky-blue eyes. "This is the perfect chance, don't you think? If we take care of business in this first battle before we've even joined the Survey Corps, we rookies will shoot up the ranks for sure." Eren grinned widely, and Armin couldn't help but follow suit.

"Yeah. No question about it." Eren had always been able to instill bravery into others. That was how he had been able to convince several of his fellow trainees to join the Survey Corps upon graduation. Nap had already been headed down that path, but even he had been impressed by Eren. Though the angst-ridden boy from Shinganshina didn't end up finishing in the top ten, he had made great strides in his three years as a trainee.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves", a level-headed Nap interjected, though he himself felt as though he was about to lose what little lunch he had eaten. "It isn't a forgone conclusion that we'll make it through today." The leader of the squad could have been more optimistic with his speech, but he knew that he spoke the truth. "That being said, I have faith. You're all going to put on one hell of a show out there today."

"That's right! Whoever takes out the most Titans wins!" Thomas yelled heartily.

Nap looked around at the squad that he was heading into battle with. They were all full to the brim with the vitality that people like Eren had given them. Thomas Wagner. Mylius Zermunsky. Armin Arlert. Eren Jaeger. Mina Carolina. They were together until death, whether it be theirs or the Titans'. As the top graduate of their class, Nap had a tough mantle to carry, but he was up for it. There was nothing he felt he couldn't do at that point in time. These five were counting on him, after all. He wouldn't be much of a savior if he went and let them all down.

"Sure, just don't go lying about your scores", Eren agreed.

Mina giggled behind him, and Nap took a quick look over toward her. He immediately noticed her staring at him in return, and she hid her face in shame before he turned away.

Nap had quickly grown close with the Karanes native, and the two of them had transcended several levels of friendship over the course of their three years together. He and Mina had developed a bond like none he had ever felt before, and it almost seemed to him as though he was falling for her. But there was no time for him to figure that out.

"Squad 34, move out!" came the order from the Garrison, ending the awkward phase of their day. "Bolster the vanguard!"

"Alright, let's go!" Nap called out to his friends. The top-ranked trainee in their talent-rich class raised his hand above his head, the blade attached to his Maneuver Gear shining with reflected sunlight.

Wires flying, smoke trailing out behind them, the trainees careened across the rooftops as they boldly made their way through the city of Trost. Nap was familiar with the district's layout, and it felt refreshing to traverse it with his Maneuver Gear once again. He and Mina were the first to see the multitude of Titans that lay before them.

They looked exactly the same as Nap remembered them. The Titans appeared uncannily similar to humans, almost to the point where it made him sick. These were the enemies that had nearly wiped out humanity, and the enemies that he would have to defeat once and for all.

"That many?" said an alarmed Mina. "The vanguard must have been defeated already!"

"Dammit", Nap cursed under his breath. "We can't let our guard down even for a second with all of these Titans out here! We need to-"

"An aberrant!" Eren's scream attracted the attention of the other five trainees, who immediately spotted the humongous creature leaping toward them, forcing all of them to scatter onto a nearby roof. Nap, Armin, Mina and Mylius made the landing, while Eren grabbed the very edge of the roof for dear life, as the Titan crashed into a tower.

They were one member short, and Nap quickly realized that Thomas was not as lucky as his friends. Nap stared in disbelief as the Titan's head shifted to its right, revealing the upper half of the squirming boy protruding from its mouth. The other members of his squad looked on in utter horror as the behemoth swallowed him whole, before it dropped to the ground and walked away like nothing had happened.

It took a few seconds to sink into Nap's mind. Thomas was dead. The very first Titan that he saw, and it had ended his life, his dreams, his hope for the future… Everything. Nap hadn't been incredibly close to Thomas, but the two of them had still trained together in the same hellish conditions for three years. To Nap, he may not have been a great friend, but at the very least he was a valued acquaintance. To the Titans, he was only the latest victim on their list.

"What the hell are you doing?" was Eren's battle cry as he launched himself in the direction of the Titan that had eaten Thomas, eyes full of sheer bloodlust and thoughts bent on vengeance.

"Eren!" Armin desperately called out after him.

"Don't be an idiot!" Nap shouted, activating his Maneuver Gear and chasing after his brash friend. "You're going to die if you go off alone!"

But there was no stopping Eren. His blood-curdling yells echoed back to the other four as they chased him through the streets of Trost, all of them neglecting to even so much as scan the area for Titans. Nap barely even had to think through his flight pattern. His speed nearly allowed him to catch up with Eren, as the remaining members of the squad trailed behind him.

There was nothing that any of them could do to prevent an unnoticed Titan from snapping up the lower part of Eren's left leg as he heedlessly flew over it.

Nap watched his comrade spin out of control, face-planting into a roof before his momentum forced him to roll across several subsequent ones, eventually coming to rest face-down on top of a midlevel house. Nap desperately raced after him, slashing the neck of the guilty Titan before it could even turn around and see him. Nap ended its life in an instant, and managed to quickly land on the same roof as his injured squadmate after making his first kill. Even in the current circumstances, it at least felt good to know that his training had paid off.

Armin came down on a house across the street from where Nap and Eren were, while Mylius and Mina propelled themselves toward them. The two didn't get far before Mylius was snatched out of the air by a seven-meter Titan. As Mina looked behind her in horror, a smaller Titan grabbed ahold of her wire, resulting in her being flung into the wall of a building. Before she could recover her senses, the wide-eyed Titan was already bearing down upon her.

There was no time for Nap to worry about Eren. He fired his hooks in the direction of the beast that had grabbed Mina, and gracefully soared toward it, hacking through the skin of its weak spot mere seconds before it would have bitten off the head of the girl he owed so much of his happiness to. The Titan hadn't even put up a fight. His second kill was easy as the first.

Why the hell was it so easy?

He let his momentum carry him into the wall before using his feet to ricochet off of it, stealing Mina from the hands of the fallen Titan and shooting his hooks back onto the roof where Eren lay. Looking behind him, he saw the seven-meter class stuffing the last piece of Mylius into its mouth, making Nap queasy. Even from the start, it had been too late to save the ashy-haired boy. He deposited Mina on the rooftop, where she fell to her knees, sobbing.

"Nap… Thank you… I was…" she managed to get out through the stream of tears and shudders. Nap placed his hand on her head, comforting one of the first trainees who had been kind enough to speak to him. He hadn't realized until recently how much he truly cared for her.

"Mina, don't say anything", Nap whispered. "Besides, it's not over yet. We need to make it out of here, and make sure that Thomas and Mylius didn't die for nothing."

For the first time since he had joined the military, Nap truly felt like a failure. He now had the blood of two of his fellow trainees on his hands, and the battle had only just begun. Some savior he turned out to be.

He slowly looked around him, barely managing to keep his lunch from spewing out of his mouth. Eren lay in a sorry heap several meters away, on the same rooftop, probably with more than a few broken bones to go along with the loss of his leg. Across the street, Armin had fallen helplessly to his knees. Nap couldn't blame him, but he knew that the large, bearded Titan heading toward him would take no notice of such a thing. He had to act quickly.

"Nap…"

Eren's voice was the last thing that he had expected to hear, and when Nap looked over to see the wounded boy gradually coming into a sitting position, he instinctively yelled at him to stop.

"You're going to hurt yourself even more! Just stay still, I'll help Armin myself."

Eren smiled through his gritted teeth. His body relaxed as he said "We're going to see the outside world."

Nap hesitated no further, seizing the one chance that he had as the Titan grasped the ill-fated Armin by the back of his leather trainee jacket. The Titan's back was to him, and after firing his hooks into the bearded bastard's neck, it was an easy task to slice away the necessary area and slay the monster. Nap then leapt into the air, catching Armin as he fell from the beast's hand, and used his Maneuver Gear to quickly return to the rooftop from whence he came.

The ease with which he had made his three kills continued to disturb him. He knew that he was strong, but he had expected the Titans to be much more of a threat. True, they had all had their backs turned to him, but… He pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

Mina had recovered, and she was now tending to Eren's injuries. He let out the occasional agonized scream as she deftly tore up his shirt to form makeshift bandages.

Nap searched the area for any remaining Titans that were tall enough to reach them in their precarious situation. He saw only a single twelve-meter class to the south, among a group of tall buildings, but there was no mistake that it was headed their way. It would be on them within two minutes, and the most secure course of action would be to take it out as quickly as possible.

"Mina", he said while turning to face his three remaining comrades. "Can you protect these two while I go take out that twelve-meter class? I don't know how Armin is holding up, but I'd like you to try and talk to him some. And whatever you do", he added, "don't follow me."

Mina only had time to nod and give a courageous smile before Nap shot off like a bullet in the direction of the bulgy brute. The Titan looked to be a regular one, as there had been no aberrants in the area other than the one that had killed Thomas. If Nap could take out this one, he and his friends could stay safe on top of that roof until another team reached them. He could do it. He could save them. He could make up for his past failures and-

His wire failed to hitch onto the façade of a large building, and he tumbled to the ground mere paces from the feet of the twelve-meter class.

Nap's body ached all over, especially the stinging pain in his right leg. It must have been badly bruised, but that was of little concern compared to the fact that he was now completely vulnerable. There were four Titans headed toward him, the twelve-meter class along with three shorter ones that he hadn't seen from the air. The ground beneath him was unable to shake more than his body and heart. He had failed, and now he and his friends were going to be devoured by Titans because of it. He thought of all the faces he would never see again. Annie. Mina. Eren. Langston. Anka. Gustav. His grandfather. Nap shut his eyes tightly, as he waited for the end that he had never expected to come.

He heard the footsteps of the Titans drawing ever closer.

He heard them directly in front of him.

He heard them pass him entirely without as much as a hesitation.


	4. Attack on Trost Pt 2: We're Not Helpless

_Nap, Eren, Mina, and Armin, Year 850_

The Titans continued marching toward the rooftop where Mina frantically tended to the traumatized Armin and the incapacitated Eren. The twelve-meter, four-meter, and two three-meter classes had kept advancing even when Nap had been exposed on the ground directly in front of them, as easy a target as any they would ever find. There was no time to think about this, however, as Nap uncovered his eyes, spotting the twelve-meter Titan mere paces away from devouring his friends. He could ask himself why they had ignored him later, but there was only one thing that he could do at that moment.

His Maneuver Gear still functioned despite the crash, and thus he was able to launch himself directly at the twelve-meter class, skillfully severing the nape of the oblivious ogre's neck. He had quickly grown accustomed to the precision involved in the act through the four kills that he had made thus far. He stumbled a bit as he landed on the roof, Mina quickly rushing over to support him on his injured leg.

"Thanks, Mina", he said as he smiled. She had been unendingly kind to him ever since they met. "I think I can stand now", he added after several seconds. Mina cautiously backed away as he gritted his teeth and hopped around for a few moments, finally managing to hold his own weight.

"What happened? Did you get attacked?" Mina's concern was apparent. "Were there other Titans?"

"See for yourself", Nap replied grimly. The two of them peered over the edge of the roof at the three Titans clawing at its edge. They stood no chance of reaching the four soldiers on the rooftop, but a fall from their perch would have been disastrous. Nap looked back toward the other two members of their squad, and was relieved to see that Armin had finished huddling in terror and was talking to a now-upright Eren. He strolled over and sat down by the two of them, with Mina following.

"How are you guys holding up?" Nap asked the two boys. They were the only ones in the 34th squad that had experienced a Titan attack before, and the debacle that they were currently a part of could only have brought back the worst of memories.

"We're fine", Eren replied with a pained grin. "It's nothing we haven't been through before, right?" He gave Armin a slap on the back. Eren had put on a strong face, but the agony from the loss of his leg had clearly not vanished. Mina's clean handiwork had managed to cover up the bleeding for the time being, but Eren would not be able to last much longer without getting professional attention for his wound. However, with the three Titans underneath them and countless more lurking in the blood-stained streets of Trost, a one-legged soldier would only serve to slow down their depleted team.

"We need to wait until we're spotted by another squad, and regroup with them before moving out. In our present state, we won't make it far in this city", Nap decided. "In the meantime", he stood once again, "I'll take care of these Titans."

Armin doggedly rose to his feet as well. "I'll help you. I need to be of some use, right?"

As much as he admired the boy's resoluteness, Nap had to decline. "No, Armin. You're in no shape to fight", he said even as his right leg throbbed madly. "I'm more than capable of taking out these three on my own. I know what I'm getting myself into", he added before leaping off the edge of the building.

Nap's Maneuver Gear allowed him to soar over the heads of the Titans below him. By this point, a fourth Titan had joined them, a seven-meter class which he recognized as the one that had eaten Mylius. While Nap wasn't bent so much on revenge as a certain associate of his, he knew that he could only do his fallen friend justice by taking out his devourer.

As before, none of the Titans paid the slightest bit of attention to Nap as he landed softly on the street below them. They continued desperately clawing at the side of the building that his friends remained sheltered on, all while their silent assassin unsheathed his blades and calmly slew one of them after the other.

The stress was erased from his friends' expressions as he landed back on top of the roof, returning to his seated position between Mina and Armin. His leg had numbed by that point, and each of his kills on the ground below had been easier than the last. If the Titans really had been ignoring him the whole time, that might have explained why it was so easy.

But why the hell were they ignoring him?

Titans were naturally attracted to humans. That was one of the first things they had been taught by their instructors. Aberrants had been known to ignore smaller groups of humans and focus on taking out larger populations, but that wasn't the case in this scenario. All of the Titans that Nap killed had been normal ones, so why did they not pay attention to him?

"Wow, you're even stronger than I realized", Armin remarked, interrupting his thought process. "How many Titans were down there?"

"There were four, but none taller than seven meters", Nap replied. He tried to relax his body, but the splotches of Titan blood combined with the bruises from his crash made that difficult to do. Making matters worse, the more he tried to calm his nerves, the more he began thinking back to what had just happened to him and his squad. The adrenaline that had pumped through his veins was wearing off, and he now remembered every one of the horrific events that had transpired in just the past few minutes.

Visions shot through his head as his eyes failed to open. He saw Thomas squirming in the mouth of the aberrant Titan before being swallowed whole. He saw Eren's limp body spiraling out of control after his leg had been bitten off. He saw the seven-meter class stuffing Mylius into its gaping mouth, and he remembered just how helpless he had been to save him. Then he saw the wide-eyed four-meter class Titan. The one that had grabbed Mina's wire and caused her to fall to the ground. He screamed and cried inside of his mind but he could do nothing to stop the monster from biting off her head.

It was a good thing that Nap hadn't eaten much that day, because the entire content of his stomach came hurtling out of his mouth, splattering the shingles of the roof with unappealing greenish sludge. He frantically turned right, then left, searching for the girl he had failed to save, until-

"Mina!" He hysterically embraced her as the weight on his conscience lifted. He remembered. She was okay. He had been able to save at least one of his friends.

"Nap? Are you alright?" The red faded from Mina's face as he drew back and nodded. He looked to his right, and the expressions of Eren and Armin conveyed the same feelings as had Mina's words.

"I'm sorry", said Nap, standing again. "I don't know what happened to me." Looking down at his regurgitation, he made up his mind. "We can't stay here. We're going to be easy prey for a ten-meter class or taller Titan that happens to come into our area. We need to look for another squad and quickly climb the walls before the Titans-"

"Nap", Eren interrupted, gesturing toward the stump that remained of his left leg. Nap had somehow forgotten all about the injury that had put them in the very predicament that they were in. He hadn't been able to save everyone.

"Besides", Eren continued, "even if I could move effectively, we don't have enough fuel to climb the walls. And the Titans are still coming in through the hole. When I get over there I'll-"

"Eren, you shouldn't get so riled up", Mina said, concerned. "You need to relax as much as you can. We'll wait here until another squad comes our way. I'm sure the three of us can take care of any Titans that may-"

"Mina! Over here!"

The distinct voice of Connie Springer came from their left. The four of them turned to see the scrawny boy and several more of their companions hustling toward them over the rows of houses. Nap was able to make out four other trainees behind the speedy Connie, who raced on ahead as the leader of his team, keeping an eye out for Titans in an area where there no longer were any.

When Connie, Christa, Ymir, Ava, and Samuel had all reached their destination, the four others quickly filled them in on their misadventures after having been deployed. The newcomers mourned the deaths of Thomas and Mylius, but they all knew that they couldn't dwell on those events. Only a few of the nine soldiers had the fuel needed to climb the wall, and the problem of Eren's missing leg remained.

"What about your squad?" Armin questioned. "Didn't you guys have a sixth member?"

Connie sighed and looked down at the ground. "Yeah, we did. Langston."

"That crybaby hightailed it out of there as soon as we ran into the first Titan", Ymir explained. "Some people just don't have the nerve."

Nap was surprised to say the least. There had been no time during the three years he knew Langston Pyrite that he had thought of the boy as a coward. Looking at Mina, he knew that she was thinking the same thing. Perhaps Langston really did lack the nerve.

"Don't talk about him like that!" Connie snapped at Ymir. The two of them had been at odds with each other ever since they met. "He's our friend, and who knows what could have happened to him out there. If we just wait long enough I'm sure-"

"We can't stay here any longer. I'm not sure why you haven't realized, Connie", Ymir stated coldly, "but we're going to be slowed by that." She pointed unenthusiastically at the bloody pulp that remained of Eren's limb, and sighed. "Even so, we should try and rendezvous with the middle guard and wait for the supply team. That's all we can do at this point. Someone there might have a plan that we can't think of ourselves."

Nap nodded grimly. There was no other choice. "You're right. We have to move out." He and Connie moved to hoist Eren's body off the ground, and with his slumped form balanced between the two of them, set out in the direction of the rendezvous point to the north. There were few Titans that had made it such a distance, and the sparse encounters all ended favorably for the trainees. The cargo of Eren's body slowed the journey by a good amount, but soon the other trainees in the middle guard were visible several houses away.

Connie brought Eren down on the rooftop, as Nap ran to speak to the first person he saw. Most of the trainees sat or stood dejectedly, scattered across the surrounding rooftops in small groups. Those who had possessed the necessary fuel had already scaled the walls, so there were only about fifty trainees remaining.

"Jean! What's going on? Why is everyone just standing around?"

The muffin-topped boy's head rose as Nap approached. His eyes held a look of admitted defeat. "We can't do anything else. We're trapped here, thanks to those cowards."

"Are you talking about the supply team?" Connie asked, jogging up next to Nap. "Were they wiped out or something? Why aren't they here?"

Jean just shook his head. "They lost the will to fight. Not that I blame them… They abandoned their duty to keep us supplied and locked themselves in at HQ. Now Titans are all over the place, and we can't refill our tanks."

Connie's temper broke. "In that case, we have to take a chance and wipe out those Titans!" he blurted out. Nap had been thinking the same thing, but looking at the body language of the trainees around him, he doubted that anyone would be able to spur them to action. He certainly wouldn't be able to do it on his own, but maybe with some help…

"I agree. It's better than wasting our time here." Nap hadn't noticed Armin standing next to him, but the boy who had only an hour ago been a nervous wreck now looked as confident as anyone. "The Titans will be on us soon anyway. If we run away aimlessly, we'll deplete what little gas we have left. If we lose our mobility, we'll be sitting ducks for the Titans."

Jean was slow to respond. He looked at Connie and said "You should learn to use your head like this guy more often. But Armin", he turned back to the boy on Nap's right. "Do you really think we can accomplish that with our manpower? The Garrison's forces in the vanguard were totally wiped out. Who among us trainees could take over in the face of sure death? Even if someone could, we'd be helpless against the Titans. HQ is probably-"

"You're wrong", Nap interrupted. For the first time, Jean showed a sign of life as his startled face lifted up. "We're not helpless against the Titans. We just need to work together. As a full assembly of parts, we can equal the strength of any number of Titans. You know that, Jean. You're one of the strongest trainees for a reason. You just need to focus. You're the one who needs to spur these guys to action." Nap turned, leaving Jean with those words, and headed off to find Annie.

He had no idea if his speech had done anything to help Jean, but he believed in his comrade. Nap could not afford to fail yet again, not after what had already happened.

As he located his best friend, standing on the edge of the roof next to Reiner, Bertolt and Marco, his progress was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder. As he had done to her earlier, Mikasa now swung him around, staring brazenly up at him.

"Nap", she started. Her face fell into her red scarf as she spoke. "Forgive me for asking something personal, but Eren was in your squad, wasn't he? Where is he?"

Nap had nearly forgotten about Eren, and he didn't want to be the object of Mikasa's ire when she found out what had happened to him. He had finished above her in the final rankings, but the two of them had been dead even most of the way. Still, lying would do him no good.

"Mikasa, something happened to Eren. He'll be fine", he managed to reassure her as her perfectly-shaped face lit up with alarm, "but his left leg was bitten off. Mina patched it up as best she could. He won't be able to fight like this, though."

Mikasa again played with the scarf that he had never seen her without. "Alright", she said, looking up again to meet his eyes. "We need to get everyone together, and then we'll decide on our plan. One way or another, we have to get up those walls."

"You're right", Nap agreed. "We won't be able to do anything if we're not together." He turned to call the rest of the trainees to attention, but Mikasa wasn't quite done. She grabbed his hand as he began to walk away, and spoke to him quietly.

"Thank you. I have no doubt that without you, Eren wouldn't have survived." Nap bit his lip, and although he knew that what she said was likely true, he couldn't help but feel guilty all the same. Eren had lost his leg because of his failure as a leader, and although he may have also escaped with his life because of Nap, he would never be able to fight Titans again. He would never be able to fulfill his dreams of vengeance.

"I remember what you said to me earlier, and I can't help but think that you know what it feels like. You have someone you care about, in the same way I care about Eren." She paused as Nap nodded.

"Well, if you have someone like that", Mikasa continued, "make sure you protect them no matter what, because… It really hurts to lose someone close to you."

Nap didn't know what to say, now that Mikasa was somehow warming up to him, but he was spared an awkward moment when she swept by him like their conversation had never happened.

"Marco", she began, "if we can clear the Titans away…"

After several minutes of persuasive and motivational speeches by the more level-headed members of the group, the entire remaining mass of the 104th Trainee Corps had assembled on the middle of the roof, with Jean standing at the forefront, and Armin next to him as a consultant. Their plan had been hastily created, but the two of them were confident that their friends could execute it. With a renewed spirit, Jean began.

"Members of the 104th", he addressed. "The mission we're about to start may cost all of us our lives." The expressions on most of the trainees' faces mirrored what they had looked like when listening to Kitts Verman speak to them before the Trost mission had even started. Jean, however, was determined to inspire them in ways that Verman had been woefully unprepared to do. "But this plan is the only way to give us the chance to escape this city with our lives. If you're standing here in front of me, it's because you don't have enough fuel to climb the wall and get out of here. The only way to get this fuel", he swung his arm toward the tallest structure in Trost, the HQ, "is to take back that building from the Titans that have surrounded it. It's not gonna be easy. A lot of us won't make it out alive. But we're going to give it everything we have. Now then", he lowered his arm and his voice, "here's the plan that we'll use to infiltrate HQ."

At this point, Armin stepped forward. He swallowed apprehensively before he began speaking.

"We're going to split up into four teams", the small boy began. His voice had none of the tremors that Nap was accustomed to hearing from him. "These groups will each take on the Titans surrounding HQ from a different direction. One team each will take the east and west sides of the building. A small, fast squad led by Jean will circle around the building, distracting any Titans they can before attacking from the north. The bulk of our forces", Armin concluded, "will come from the south, heading straight for the building and killing any Titans in their path before reaching HQ and resupplying."

The hubbub among the stiff trainees rose as Armin's speech ended. One boy at the back of the assembly had to be restrained from charging out into the city and away from his companions.

"Just like Armin said", Jean's commanding voice rang out over the rooftop as the short blonde began his rounds through the crowd, allocating roles for the upcoming expedition, "most of you will be assigned to the southern attack forces. Those who attack from the North with me will be the quickest among us. We need all the speed we can get in order to move to the other side of the building. That's why I'm taking Connie, Sasha, Ymir and Samuel on this mission. As for the East and West squads, Reiner and Annie will be in charge of the nine-member eastern force, and Nap and Mikasa will lead the western team. Any objections?" Not a word was heard in opposition, so Jean continued. "The southern group of the remaining twenty-four trainees will be commanded by Miranda."

The idle girl near the front of the formation was stunned to hear her name, and quickly pushed her way through until she was face-to-face with Jean. She was one of the few females in the 104th who was tall enough to look him directly in the mug, and her confused eyes did just that. Her face was a far cry from the goofy smile that she usually wore.

"What the hell are you doing, putting me in charge? I didn't even make the top ten, in case you don't remember", she questioned the long-faced boy. "Why not give command to someone deserving, like Bertolt? Or Marco?"

Jean stared directly back at her, wondering if he had indeed made a mistake. Armin had assured him beforehand that his judgment of character had not been off, and he had chosen Miranda knowing fully well what she was capable of.

"Miranda, why didn't you make the top ten?" He would have thought that the girl's eyebrows possessed Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear of their own with the way that they flew skyward at his question. He pressed on. "You've got the skill. You're one of the most complete soldiers here. But why weren't you recognized by our commanders? It was because you didn't care, right? You purposefully slacked off so that you would fall behind in the rankings."

He paused, allowing her to drink in the words he was spilling out. "Why? Was it because you just didn't give a damn about your marks? Or was it that you had no plans to join the Military Police from the start, and wanted to give someone else a shot at the top ten?"

Miranda's shoulders fell. She had always made a concerted effort to hide her true intentions behind her carefree persona, but Jean had still figured her out entirely. He was certainly the last person that she had expected to do so. Maybe, she thought, she had underestimated him in the same way that she had hoped the rest of her friends would underestimate her.

"So what, Jean?" Miranda said halfheartedly. "You said it yourself. I don't care. What makes you think someone apathetic like me can lead a team on a suicide mission like this?"

"I'm not even sure what I'm thinking", Jean admitted, "but I've got a gut feeling. I know you care too much about these people to let them all die on you. You're gonna lead them well."

"You're not wrong." Miranda's eyes lifted. A new glow of determination shone on her face as she saluted, her trademark grin returning. The soldiers behind her did the same. Although he seemed like the least likely person to do it, Jean had earned their trust and respect as a leader.

"Now, let's get a move on", the boy from Trost shouted. "I expect all of you to make it back alive. I don't want anyone dying on my watch before I head to the interior tomorrow. That kind of thing wouldn't look good on my resume." He gave one last look at the faces of those he had spent the last three years training with. He hadn't always gotten along with them. Most of them probably weren't too fond of him. But that didn't matter. The only thing of any importance was getting all forty-seven of them out of the city alive.

"104th Trainee Corps, move out!"

Nap stood where he was, waiting for the seven troops assigned to his and Mikasa's squad to report. His co-captain stood to his left, staring as two trainees, Erik and Johann, were helping Eren to stand several meters away. Although Nap knew it was ridiculous, it almost looked to him as though the stump of Eren's severed leg had grown longer since it had been bitten off. He shook off the thought as his team had assembled before him. Jean had already given the signal to move out, and had since departed with his small group. Before Nap could turn to converse with Mikasa, he heard a voice from his other side.

"Nap, wait!" Mina called out to him. She had been assigned to the southern team which had yet to fully organize itself. But at the present she was sprinting toward Nap's group, intent on a few parting words. He put out an arm to steady her as she nearly careened into him, and gave her a few seconds to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry, I had to say goodbye", she said with a determined smile. "I don't know if I'll make it out of this alive, so I thought I'd-"

"Don't say that, Mina", Nap interrupted. "Don't even think it. You're not dying here. If that were to happen, I… I don't know if I'd be able to live with myself."

She looked up at him even as Miranda called to her that their squad was leaving. Nap could feel Mikasa's eyes boring into him from behind, but it didn't matter. He felt too strongly about Mina to let her run off into battle without a proper goodbye.

"I'll see you later, Mina", he said with a wave. It was pathetic, but that was his way.

"Yeah, I'll see you, Nap", she said as she took a step away from him. It wasn't until Nap had turned back to his squad that she about-faced, and placed a warm kiss low on his cheek.

Nap didn't have time to react before Mina had run away giggling to herself, and he could see his team doing the same. He thought it was good that they had at least gotten a bit of a chuckle before running right into a deathtrap like this. He watched as Annie and Reiner's eastern team spurred into action, followed by Miranda's squad, with Mina, Armin, and the hobbled Eren.

There was no need for him to worry about Annie or Mina. They had gone through the same hell that he had gone through, and they had come out stronger than ever. Nap would see them again soon, along with every single one of their remaining comrades.

He turned to Mikasa and nodded.

"We're leaving now", said his partner. "Let's all be strong. If we're strong, we'll defeat the Titans."

With that, the western group launched themselves into the air.

Nap, Mikasa, Abigail, Victor, Franz, Selim, Ava, Ellen and Jacob headed on the path to certain death.


	5. Escape from Trost Pt 1: We're All Dead

_Western Squad, Year 850_

Nap turned to see Mikasa's blades fall on yet another unlucky Titan's neck. She had needed no help from the other eight members of her squad to kill the first three brutes that they had encountered. They were drawing close to the looming building, and the western side of the headquarters appeared much more sparsely populated with Titans than the other designated areas. Nap worried about Miranda's squad in the South, the area with more Titans than the other three directions put together.

The thought was jolted from his mind when his team rounded a corner and came face-to-face with five Titans, two seven-meters, two ten-meters and a three-meter class. Their mouths hung open in the usual idiotic grin of the monsters, and their arms were already beckoning toward the humans that they lived solely to consume. Nap continued to shun the thought that these dopey creatures were the ones driving humanity to the brink of extinction. As appointed captains, he and Mikasa gave commands to the other trainees.

"Abby! Vic!" his partner called out. "Lure the Titans away from the rest of us. If you can get them all to follow you, we can kill them from behind!"

The two smallest members of the team nodded. Abigail Frauke and Victor Paulus jettisoned themselves toward the Titans, careful to stay out of their arms' reach as the two small fries acted as bait. Nap took his chance as all five Titans instinctively followed them, and motioned for the rest of his team to position themselves atop an adjacent roof.

"Mikasa and I will go for the ten-meter classes. Jacob and Ellen, kill the seven-meter ones. Ava, you take the three-meter. Selim, Franz, back us up in case any of us fail." Nap was doing his best to stay cool in the situation. Even after the deaths that he had witnessed, and felt responsible for, he found a way to keep himself in check. There was no way that he would fail again. Not when Mikasa and the rest of his team were counting on him.

The five assassins hastily readied their blades. The five Titans were well within range of their maneuverability, and their backs were still turned thanks to Vic and Abby. With one look at Mikasa, Nap quickly thrust himself toward the tallest of the beasts, using what little fuel he had left to aim for the creature's weak spot at the back of the neck. His killing shot was clean, as was Mikasa's on the Titan to his left. The two of them came down on the roof that the decoys had been standing on, safe from the three remaining monsters, as Jacob and Ellen readied themselves to leap toward the seven-meter classes. Ellen Isaac shot straight for the neck of the dark-haired Titan on her left. Jacob Way had the luxury of a near-full tank of fuel, and showed it off by shooting himself into the air and making a flashy spin with his blades as he descended toward the beast on the right.

It was during his flight that Nap spotted a movement out of the corner of his eye. The quick flash had come from behind a row of houses, and would not have been visible to any of the trainees standing on the opposite roof. Nap turned his head as quickly as he could to see the unmistakable form of a Titan, crawling swiftly on four legs as it made its way downtown. Its unkempt blonde hair and gaping maw shook as it scuttled clumsily but with clear purpose toward his comrades.

Nap was helpless to do anything but watch as the crawling Titan leaped with reckless abandon, its wide-open mouth snatching Jacob Way clean out of the air.

_Anka, Year 850_

"Captain Verman!" shouted Anka as she hopped off her horse, finally locating the man after her ride from Lord Balto's expansive home. "What's the status on the evacuation?"

"Officer Rheinberger!" replied the cowardly captain of the Garrison, his voice cracking as he whirled around to look down upon the escort of Commander Pixis. "The civilians of Trost have all been evacuated. There are no casualties to report."

Anka narrowed her eyes as she glared at the much taller captain. In spite of her stature, Anka was clearly the one doing the intimidation. "If that's the case, then where are the members of the 104th Trainee Corps? I wish to locate the grandson of Commander Pixis."

Kitts Verman panicked at this request. "The trainees… Well you see… They are…"

"Captain Verman", Anka said once more, folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently, "I have no time for hesitation. If you won't tell me where the trainees are, then I may have to assume command here. I have full authority from Commander Pixis himself to do so."

Verman gulped, knowing that no matter what he said, the result would not be in his favor. "The trainees are still in the city, fighting the Titans."

"They are, are they?" Verman was sweating bullets under the cold heat of Anka's gaze. "And why is that? Is there some reason that they're still out there dying when the city has already been evacuated?"

"The s-supply team", Verman stammered, "the supply team in the HQ has been surrounded by Titans. The trainees have no way to scale the walls without fuel."

Anka wasn't satisfied. "The supply team, huh? Weren't you in charge of the supply team? Why are you out here while your team is still in danger?" Verman didn't have a chance to speak before Anka made up her mind.

"On second thought, I don't care", she said. "You've lost the right to command here. I'm taking over." With that, she strode past him. "Mitabi", she called to a nearby soldier, "Gather the members of your squad. Make sure you have enough fuel. We're going back in there."

The statuesque Mitabi Jarnach, one of the top-ranked soldiers even among all of the Garrison's elite forces, quickly saluted his new commanding officer. He himself had been growing tired of the captain's cowardice, and although he was none too eager to return to the hell that Trost had become, he was not one to disobey an order, especially one from someone with authority granted by Commander Pixis.

_Western Squad, Year 850_

Jacob's mangled body disappeared down the gullet of the aberrant Titan just as Ellen slashed through the neck of her target. The seven-meter class joined the two other steaming Titan bodies in front of Nap, Mikasa, Victor and Abby. But with Jacob gone, there was no one to stop the remaining seven-meter class from grabbing Ellen's leg as she moved to land on the roof with her compatriots. A muffled cry came from Abby as the beast swung its arm upward, dragging the helpless girl to its grotesque open mouth.

With a soft growl, Mikasa sprang from her perch and anchored one of her steel wires in the Titan's face, propelling herself forward quick enough to jab her twin blades into the monstrous being's eye sockets. The seven-meter class dropped Ellen as it brought its hands to its face, screaming in agony as Mikasa jumped backward and onto the roof. Ellen's Maneuver Gear had to have been damaged by the Titan's hand, for she could not grapple the edge of the roof and prevent herself from falling to the street below. With Mikasa taking care of the seven-meter class and the crawling aberrant still loose on the street below, there was only one person who could prevent the three-meter class from devouring Ellen.

"Everyone, stay back", Nap called to his friends on the opposite rooftop, "unless you want to reunite with Jacob. I'm taking out this one!"

He leapt from the roof in the direction of the smallest of the Titans, keeping an eye on the creepy crawler most of the way, even while it jumped repeatedly without success toward Franz, Selim and Ava. Nap reached the beast just as it began to stretch down toward the clearly wounded body on the ground, and swiftly brought his blades down on the back of the monster's neck. Ellen hastily veered out of the way as the body of the three-meter class fell directly on to the location where she had been lying. Looking up, Nap saw blood spurt out of the last standing Titan's neck as Mikasa sliced through its vital area. He turned to the girl he had saved, who stood grimacing while her left arm dangled flimsily at her side.

"Ellen, does your Maneuver Gear still work?" Nap asked.

She shook her head. "My right operating device got crushed by the Titan that grabbed me. And my left one, well…" Her voice trailed off as she leaned against the house, wincing in pain as she held her left arm with her right. Nap snapped off his blades, which had been dulled from his last two kills, and unsheathed the penultimate pair that remained in his possession. He turned to face the crawling aberrant when he heard a yell from Victor on the roof above him.

"Watch out!"

Nap saw the quadruped monster creeping toward him, having grown bored with the three trainees on the opposite roof. Wasting no time, he helped Ellen onto his back before hooking his steel wires into the edge of the roof, launching the two of them to safety away from the jowls of the aberrant. For the first time, Nap was truly grateful for the intense lessons that Keith Shadis had given the trainees. If he hadn't gone to such extreme lengths to make sure that they were in peak condition, none of them would have made it through the battle. Nap's body before the three years he spent under Shadis wouldn't have been able to raise itself up to the roof while carrying the extra weight of Ellen.

If only that had been the greatest of their worries.

"Ellen, you should lie down", Mikasa said, taking to Nap's side as Abby and Victor watched the aberrant below, still gnashing its teeth at them and occasionally jumping a few meters into the air, but never causing any immediate danger for them. "Any ideas on how we fight this thing, Nap?"

"No idea. I've never heard of a crawling aberrant before", he said with dismay. "My best guess is that we should attack it from different sides. Try and somehow hook onto its back from behind. But if we don't move fast enough, it might not work."

Mikasa nodded. "That's a better plan than anything I can think of. We'll do it." She walked carefully to the edge of the roof, as close to the Titan as she could safely go without being in danger of its leaping ability. "Guys! Can you hear me?" she yelled across the street.

Franz nodded and called back with a resounding "Yes!" while Selim and Ava waved in agreement.

"Good", Mikasa continued. "We're going to split up and attack this thing from three different angles. You three are going to leap from that roof. On my signal, got it?"

The three of them once again shouted back with their understanding. Nap shivered internally at the thought that his plan might put all of their lives at risk. He had already watched Thomas being devoured by the aberrant, the first Titan that they had encountered in the city. He had seen Mylius eaten messily by the seven-meter class soon after. And he had witnessed this very Titan leaping out of nowhere and catching Jacob in its mouth.

"Nap! What are you doing?"

Abby's voice yanked him back to reality. Mikasa had taken her position on a roof diagonal from his own along with Victor, so that the three groups of trainees formed somewhat of a triangle around the crawling Titan. His partner was looking up at him with an annoyed expression.

"This is no time for daydreaming", Abby continued. "If we don't move when Mikasa gives the signal, everyone else dies."

Nap gave a nod as his silent understanding, and then turned back toward the black-haired beauty on the other roof. Mikasa was intently watching the crawler, as it raced in a circle among the houses that they stood on. There was no telling when, or if, it would ever get tired, and with the other Titans in the city growing closer every second, there was no time to waste.

"Go!"

The single word shot out of Mikasa's mouth as the three teams shot toward the crawling Titan. Based on Nap's plan, at least one of them should have been able to get a clear shot at the beast's weak spot. The problem was, with a Titan as fast as this one, they would only get one shot at it. If anyone failed in their duty, everyone was dead.

The world slowed for Nap as he and Abby propelled themselves toward the Titan. When Mikasa had given the signal, the creature had been facing her. Now it had done a complete 180-degree turn, and was practically heading right toward them. If they reached its face, their job was to take out its eyes without exposing themselves to its mouth, but with the Titan's constant movement that was easier said than done.

The other trainees executed the plan flawlessly. Mikasa and Victor sailed toward the Titan's side. Franz, followed by Ava and Selim, headed for the Titan's vital area at the back of its neck. Even through the thick mop of hair that the creature recklessly tossed around, the trainees could see its weak spot clear as day thanks to their endless training. Franz raised his blades in preparation to strike.

Then, the Titan spun around, too fast for any of them to follow.

The moments that had moved at a snail's pace for Nap seemed to hasten as the crawling aberrant caught his teammate in its mouth, ruthlessly ripping his legs from his upper body less than an instant before Victor ended the monster's life with a blow to its neck.

Franz was dead before he hit the ground.

_Northern Squad, Year 850_

Jean braced himself as he crashed through the window, glass splintering the air around him as he landed on one knee between Samuel and Ymir. They hadn't encountered any more than five Titans on their way to the HQ, and with their skill they had had no trouble taking out each of them.

"Watch it", snarled the unpleasant girl beside him, climbing to her feet as she brushed the shards out of her hair. Moments later, Sasha and Connie tumbled through the broken window behind her, barreling over both her and Jean before they knew what was coming.

After a good deal of pushing, shoving, and cursing, the five of them all stood in the remains of the HQ's rear windows. Jean surveyed the expansive room. As far as he could see, there was no sign of any Titans on the inside of the building despite the numerous ones encircling the facility. At the end of the room was a door leading to the main room on the floor. Seeing no signs of the supply team, Jean made a move to the door, the rest of his team following carefully.

Jean kicked open the door, startling a pair of trainees sheltering under a wooden desk. A boy with short black hair and a girl with a brown ponytail and blood splattered across her face and shoulder, the two were unknown to Jean. They raised their fists, assuming that the racket was caused by Titans entering the building, as neither of them carried Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear or blades of their own.

The two supply team members held their own in a staring contest with the gaping-mouthed Jean as Connie and Samuel behind him clamored for a better view. After a few seconds, Jean made his first move toward the two of them.

"You guys are with the supply team, right?" he asked, stepping slowly toward the frightened trainees.

"Yeah", replied the boy slowly.

That was all Jean needed to hear, as he reached out to grab the boy by the front of his shirt, lifting him off his feet and smashing his fist into the victim's face. Blood spurted from the boy's mouth as he crashed to the ground in front of Jean. His rage propelled him forward to the point where Connie and Ymir were forced to restrain him.

"Stop it, Jean!" Connie shouted in his ear.

"These are the bastards who left us to die!" Jean screamed wildly, fighting against his captors.

"It's their fault that our friends are being killed!"

"We didn't have any choice!" pleaded the blood-stained girl, tending to the boy on the floor. "Titans entered the supply room! There was nothing we could do!"

"It's your job to deal with it!" was all Jean managed to retort before an ear-splitting crash came from the east side of the building. Several more trainees sprang from under desks as a trio of fainter crashes occurred in the same direction.

"Either that's the sound of Titans raining on our parade", mused Samuel, "or the east squad is here."

"Let's be ready for either one", Jean returned.

The suspense was lifted almost instantly when the door was jarred open, revealing the imposing figure of Reiner Braun. Reiner stepped into the room, followed by Annie, Christa, and the rest of their team. Jean counted only seven members out of the nine who had been with them.

"Reiner!" Connie exclaimed as he ran over to greet his friend.

"Hey, Connie!" returned the tall blonde. "It's good to see you all made it. Tom and Nathan…" His voice trailed off as he eyed the floor. Jean's mind began to shudder at the thought of his comrades' deaths. It had been because of his command, his execution of the plan. He was the reason they were dead.

"How many of our friends have to die before we can get out of this hell?" he wondered aloud.

"You can't worry about that now, Jean", Annie replied. "With this many people in one place, it won't be long before every Titan within a kilometer is right on top of us."

Reiner raised his head and nodded. "Right. We need to get into the supply room as quickly as we can. We'll wait for the other teams once we've re-stocked."

"We won't be able to do that", said Ymir, shaking her head. "These guys said that there are Titans in the supply room. Obviously, we won't be able to do anything with them around." She put an arm around Christa as she spoke.

"Titans in the supply room?" Reiner gritted his teeth. "How many are there?" he asked to the supply team.

"There were six of them", answered one of the trainees. "All of them were four-meter class at best. We didn't stand a chance without any blades."

Reiner sighed. "I guess there's nothing we can do except wait for the other teams. They should be here soon."

"Nothing we can do?" Connie blurted out. "That's crazy! We can take on six Titans just fine!"

"Connie", said Jean quietly. "How much fuel do you have left?"

The rascally boy's face went blank as he tapped the canisters at his sides. Empty.

"Even if we had the advantage of our Maneuver Gear", Jean continued, "We couldn't do anything in an enclosed space like that. The Titans would pick us off like flies."

"The best thing we can do now is wait for the others", Annie agreed.

As if on cue, a second wave of crashes was heard from the HQ's west wing.

"Looks like we won't have to do much waiting", remarked Sasha as Vic Paulus opened the door.

"Lay her down in here!" shouted Nap as he quickly followed Victor into the room. "She'll bleed out if we don't bandage the wound!"

Behind Nap was Ava, struggling to walk with the load draped over her shoulders. There had been little time to debate with the mob of Titans surrounding them, and she had insisting on bearing the burden of Abby's crippled body herself. Mikasa followed cautiously behind, spotting the determined Ava as she staggered into the room and dipped to her knees, depositing the limp body of Abby on the floor.

"What happened to-", began a wide-eyed Jean, before he noticed that the left side of her face was completely soaked in blood.

"Someone get her a bandage!" Mikasa shouted. "There's no time to lose!"

After a few frantic minutes of shoddy medical work, Abigail's blood had stopped gushing. Her face was practically invisible under the all-consuming bandage over her wound.

"So", began Reiner, "What did you guys run into to get this beat up?"

Nap sighed and sat down at an open desk.

"We ran into a crawling aberrant."

"A crawling aberrant?" asked Connie. "I didn't even know those existed."

"I didn't either", Nap admitted. "This one came out of nowhere and jumped into the air, catching Jacob in its mouth."

Nap had to pause to calm his stomach as he recalled the event.

"No way", Jean said dejectedly. "Is that thing still out there?"

Nap shook his head. "Victor here killed it. But not before…" His hand flew to his mouth at the thought of Franz's death. He couldn't bring himself to tell them.

"Not before it killed Franz", Mikasa finished for him.

No sooner had she concluded than a piercing cry came from the other end of the room. Nap, along with the rest of the trainees, stared in the direction of the noise.

It was Hannah. The girl who could never be seen without Franz. The other trainees had incessantly poked fun at the two of them over their relationship.

"Did… Did you say… Franz?" she stammered, taking slow steps toward Mikasa with her widened eyes trained on the stoic girl. "Franz… Is dead?"

Mikasa nodded. She continued to hide her emotions, but it was obvious to Nap that deep down she was feeling the pain of breaking this news to Hannah.

"Yes" was all it took to bring the freckled girl to tears.

The rest of the trainees were silent as Hannah continued to weep loudly and messily into Mikasa's chest. Nap could feel the few remaining contents of his stomach trying to force their way out, like his digestive system had disappeared entirely. Hannah's sobbing, Abby's coughing, and the Titans' pounding at the walls of the building filled the room with the solemn air of a thousand funerals. This was reality. This was the life that they had all chosen.

"So", Annie finally said, breaking the pseudo silence, "What happened after that? How did Abby get like this?"

Nap shook his head to clear his mind.

"After we killed the crawler, we continued toward HQ. Ellen had had her arm broken by a Titan, and she couldn't operate her Maneuver Gear. Selim had to carry her, and then he-he…"

Nap's body heaved forward as everything left in his stomach was spewed out onto the floor in front of him. The trainees surrounding him jumped back in shock as his entire form shook from the episode.

"Nap, are you sure you're not hurt?" Christa asked concernedly. "We can help you if you tell us-"

"Selim and Ellen were eaten!" Nap screamed, his face a dirty mess of tears and sweat. His thick black hair was matted with heavy blotches of Titan blood.

"They were too slow. He never should have been the one carrying her in the first place. I should have been-"

Without hesitation, Annie reached out and smacked him square in the face. Nap tumbled clumsily into the desk at which he had been seated, upsetting a long-since obsolete stack of papers.

"Are you done whining yet?" Annie asked as she looked down at him with nothing but pity in her cold eyes. "This isn't like you, you know. What happened to you?"

Nap steadily drew to his feet. It was true that he had acted as a weakling, and Annie had, like always, been the one to snap him out of it.

"I don't know", he replied. "I'm sorry all of you had to see that. It won't happen again."

"That's good to hear", said Reiner with a reassuring smile. "Now if we can just get to work on resupplying, we might just be able to get out of here."

"Resupplying?" Nap looked around at his comrades, and for the first time noticed that not a single one of them carried a full arsenal of blades. "Why haven't you done that already?"

"There are six Titans in the supply room", said Ymir lazily. "Must we really repeat this to every new team that shows up?"

"We were hoping that you'd have an idea." Jean ignored the freckled girl and took a step toward Nap. "Other than Armin, you're probably the best strategist we have."

He was right, Nap thought, but another thought disturbed him.

"Speaking of Armin, why hasn't the southern team arrived yet?"

Jean cringed. "They must have seen a boatload more Titans than we did. But we can't worry about them now. We need a plan to restock our fuel."

"I'm not worried about that", Nap responded, focusing his mind. "I might have an idea. Do we have any type of firearms?" he asked to the trainees from the supply team.

"We have several dozen flint lock rifles", replied the bloody-faced girl.

"Flint lock?" Jean questioned. "What good will they do against Titans?"

"I don't know, but they have to be better than nothing", Nap said uncertainly. "Can you lead a team to go retrieve the rifles?" he asked to the girl.

She nodded, and along with several other supply team members, rose to comply.

"Here's how it needs to work", Nap continued. "We'll lower a portion of our forces down using the lift in the other room. Those trainees will all carry the rifles, and with that many people, they should be able to attract all six Titans. When the Titans are within range, the squad will fire the rifles into their eyes, blinding them temporarily. While the Titans are blinded, six of us will swoop down from the rafters and target their weak points. Even without our Maneuver Gear, we should have a shot at their vital areas if we can get a good enough jump. If that succeeds, we'll be able to resupply and get out of here, but that's a big 'if'. One screw-up and we're all dead."

"Sounds like a solid plan", said Reiner.

"When you get right down to it", Annie continued, "The risk is the same for everyone. It doesn't really matter who goes."

Nap couldn't help but feel uneasy. After his plan to kill the crawling Titan had ended in Franz's death, he was terribly hesitant to send even more of his friends to fight the Titans on his grounds.

"If anyone has a problem with it", he said, "Tell me now, please. I don't want anyone holding-"

Nap's thought process came to a sudden halt as the building's center window burst into a tempest of flying glass shards. The four surrounding windows followed instantly.

On the floor directly in front of him kneeled the unmistakable form of Miranda Sieyes. A body was cradled precariously in her arms. Behind her rose Bertolt, Marco, Nack, and Daz.

Miranda deposited the shaking body of Armin Arlert on the ground in front of her, and lifted her face, caked with dark stains of blood, to the ceiling above her. Tears flowed ceaselessly from her navy blue eyes.

"They're all dead", she said quietly. "They're all dead and it's all my fault."


	6. Escape from Trost Pt 2: Think Positive

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 850_

"What… What do you mean?"

Jean was the first to muster up a response to Miranda's pronouncement. The girl's eyes had remained fixed on the ceiling while tears flowed madly down her face.

"We're the only ones who made it." Marco was the one to step forward and confirm her words. "Everyone else in the southern squad is dead."

The room erupted into a cacophony of anguished cries and frantic screaming at the conclusion of Marco's speech. There had been twenty-four trainees assigned to the southern squad, and out of those, only six of them had made it to HQ, despite traveling the shortest distance of any of the teams.

"No… There's no way…" Sasha whispered shakily, staggering toward Marco. "Tell me this isn't true!"

"They can't all be dead!" Connie shouted, coming up beside her.

"Marco's telling the truth", Bertolt confirmed dejectedly. "No one else is coming. They're dead."

Nap's heartbeat grew faster than the crawling Titan. Mina had been in the southern squad. And Eren. They hadn't really been eaten. That was impossible.

His thoughts blurred into a meaningless fuzz as he saw Mikasa stride up to Miranda, still kneeling on the ground in front of the traumatized Armin. Leaning over, Mikasa grasped the collar of Miranda's shirt, lifting her off the ground and jerking her head down to the point where she met the shorter girl's dark eyes.

"You said everyone in your squad is dead", said Mikasa slowly. "Does that mean… Eren…"

Miranda failed to hold back another wave of salty tears from emerging out of her half-shut eyelids.

"Eren was eaten", she replied quietly. "There was nothing we could do."

Mikasa's hand fell from Miranda's throat as she dropped the girl to her feet.

"And Mina." Nap rushed to Mikasa's side as Miranda wiped her face with the sleeve of her trainee jacket. "What happened to her?"

"They're all dead!" Miranda lowered her face and thrust her clenched fist into Nap's chest. "Why don't you understand? They're all dead and soon we'll all be dead! There are too many Titans out there!"

Proving her point, the eastern side of the building shook with the force of a hurricane. Through the gaping doorway, the trainees with a good angle saw the eerily grinning faces of two Titans.

"Damn it, she's right!" Jean cursed as the trainees around him fled madly from the flying debris caused by the Titans' penetration. "There are too many people in one place!"

"Quickly! In here!"

The members of the 104th Trainee Corps rushed into the northern doorway that Jean's squad had entered from. The sixth-ranked graduate, however, remained stationary, staring wide-eyed into the four glazed eyes that were fixed on he and his teammates.

"So this is how it is", the petrified Jean thought to himself. "This is reality. Was I dreaming or living a fantasy? I should've known better."

"Jean!"

A hand swung out to grab the back of his jacket's collar as Jean was snapped out of his inner monologue.

"What are you doing standing around? We need to proceed with the plan if we want to have any chance of getting out of here." Nap's face was bordering on a disgusting shade of green, and Jean could see the sweat coursing through his thick black hair. "The building isn't going to last much longer."

Jean nodded and ran after Nap, and was the last person to exit the room, much to the disappointment of the Titans that sought to make him their next meal. The lift that led to the supply room had been brought up, and several trainees were unloading boxes of rifles from the Military Police's supply. The Military Police. That was right. Jean was going to survive that day, and join the Military Police, where no Titans would come close to him ever again.

The newcomers had all been filled in on Nap's plan. However shell shocked they were, they all knew well enough that their only hope for escape was to work through the pain.

"In order for this plan to work, we need to kill all six Titans almost simultaneously. We won't get a second chance. For that purpose, we're going to need our six most athletic members." Nap swallowed loudly before continuing, his face red-hot and his mind racing. "I'll volunteer myself first off. Mikasa, Reiner, Bertolt, Annie and Jean, you five are the best we've got. This all depends on us. As soon as Marco gives the signal to fire, we'll jump from the rafters and each slice open the neck of one of the Titans."

"If we fail, we die. No pressure there, huh?" Reiner halfheartedly tried to lighten the mood.

"Ava, you should stay behind and look after Abby", Marco suggested.

"So, keep doing what I've been doing. Well, that's a load off."

Nap was shocked to see how well-adapted all of his friends were to the heat of battle. As strong as he thought he was, he had been struggling just to keep himself together. His insides felt as though they had been completely liquefied. His teeth ached as if they were too big to fit in his mouth. And despite his sickness, his appetite remained consistently unrelenting.

There was no time for him to focus on any of this, however. The trainees were racing against the clock, holding out hope that they would be able to resupply and get on their feet before the larger Titans penetrated the building.

"Let's give it our all. Think positive. If we succeed, we make it out of here alive."

_Anka, Year 850_

"Wilhelm, you take the one on the left! Otto and I will get the two on the right!"

Anka and the two other soldiers swung into action against the last three Titans in their area. Mitabi's squad was busy on their own end, as the number of Titans in the city of Trost was growing by the second.

As members of the Garrison, Anka and her comrades were not as accustomed to fighting Titans as the members of the Survey Corps. However, every soldier present was sufficiently skilled and possessed an elite level of talent, making it a simple transition from dummy Titans to the real thing.

Anka Rheinberger and Otto Frank circled the eight and ten-meter class Titans in front of them as Wilhelm Gatzberg sized up the fifteen-meter class that was quickly approaching him.

Before they could do anything, the fifteen-meter class Titan let out a soul-shaking yell and plunged its fist into the jaw of the eight-meter class, knocking it into the third Titan and sending them both flying.

"What the…"

Otto's incredulous remark embodied the feelings of all three of them. This black-haired Titan had just attacked members of its own kind, and as soon as the bodies of the other two Titans hit the ground, it went to work taking out their vital areas.

"A Titan that attacks other Titans?" Anka could think of no other explanation for what she was seeing. "What's more, it appears to be intelligent. It's targeting the napes of their necks…"

The three of them stood in awe as the rogue Titan stomped repeatedly on the necks of the fallen Titans, all while paying no attention to the any of the humans.

A smile slowly crept across Anka's face.

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 850_

"Fire!"

The time between Marco's command and the rapid sound of guns going off was infinitesimal. As the shots echoed through the supply room, the six assassins leapt from their perches in the rafters and descended upon the writhing Titans.

Nap's blade easily sliced through the nape of a four-meter class Titan's neck. Glancing to his right, he made sure that Reiner was able to do the same. By the time the six of them reached the ground, every remaining Titan had fallen beside them.

Except for one.

To Nap's left, Mikasa crouched on the supply room floor. The blades she carried had been reduced to stumps, and the splintered remains were scattered around her. The Titan that she had been tasked with killing now stood above her, eyes bulging out of its face as it now held the clear advantage over the uncharacteristically helpless girl.

Cries rang out from all ends of the room, but Nap took the only action that made sense to him. Dropping his blades, he sprinted into the path of the oncoming Titan, snatching the motionless Mikasa by the forearm before the monster's hand passed harmlessly through the area where she had been lying only a split second before.

Safely out of reach for the moment, Nap let go of Mikasa's limp hand, turning in time to watch a furious Jean slice through the Titan's neck, putting an end to the only thing preventing them from resupplying.

"Mikasa… Why didn't you dodge?"

"We killed them all!" Jean shouted to the trainees in the lift. "Now let's get to work refilling the tanks!"

Several of the trainees, Marco included, practically fainted upon hearing the good news.

As the celebration erupted around Nap, all he could do was look down at the seemingly lifeless girl sprawled next to him. Not long before, she had been praising him, showing him her gratitude for his role in protecting Eren. Now she was… Nap paused. That must have been it.

"Mikasa", Nap whispered to the girl whose eyes were drained of all emotion, "Eren's gone. That's why you're like this, right?"

The mention of Eren's name sparked the first reaction he had seen from her since she had gotten word of his death. Mikasa's teeth clenched, and tears began to form in her eyes. She sat up, hiding her face from him, but he knew exactly what she would have looked like.

"I know it sucks", Nap began calmly, leaning back against a pillar, sitting with his arms at his sides. "There's really no other way to put it. Losing someone like that, someone so close to you… I know it's hard to come back from that."

Mikasa failed to show any sign that she was listening. She sat hunched over with her back to him as her body shook steadily.

"You just have to ask yourself one question. Would Eren really want to see you like this?"

Mikasa slowly turned toward him, her tear-stained eyes meeting his own. The sickly coloring that had plastered Nap's features had faded, but his face was still grimy from the battle. The words that passed between their worn-out faces said more than either of them could have said in a lifetime.

Nap permitted himself to crack a smile, knowing that he had at least done his part to help her.

"Hey, are you two going to sit there all day?"

Nap looked toward the sound of Connie's voice, remembering the very reason for which they had ventured into the supply room. He shook his head, allowing himself a moment of glee.

At that moment, a call from above stole the attention of every trainee present.

"Hey, guys, you might want to come up and see this", an apprehensive Ava shouted down through the hole in the ceiling that the lift had previously occupied. "There's a Titan outside that's attacking the other Titans!"

"Are you serious?"

"That's crazy!"

"You must be seeing things!"

The only thing Ava was seeing was the truth. As the trainees emerged from the building, they were able to lay their own eyes upon the brutish fifteen-meter class Titan that was breaking just about every rule that they had been taught.

"It showed up soon after you guys went down into the supply room", Ava explained to all who were not too awestruck to listen. "It sucker-punched the two bastards who had torn through the wall, and then started taking the fight to any Titan that it came across."

"I've never heard of a Titan attacking its own kind before", Jean thought out loud. Most of the trainees had made a beeline for the walls by this point, and the few that were left behind feasted their eyes upon the rogue Titan as it took on at least a dozen other beasts.

"Outnumbered like this, it won't last much longer", remarked Nap. Even before he had finished, the rogue Titan had been cornered by a group of Titans who began gnawing on it as if it were something completely different from them.

"The way they're eating it, it's almost as if they think it's a human", Mikasa added. "It's a shame we don't know more about it. Maybe if we did, it could help us…"

"I agree."

Reiner surprised everyone with this bold statement.

"If it's completely devoured, we'll never learn a thing", he continued to reason. "Let's drive away the Titans around it and keep it alive."

"Are you crazy?" Jean exclaimed, clearly shocked that one of his friends would even consider such an idea. "We finally have our chance to get out of this deathtrap! You want to throw that away for a Titan?"

"What if there's a possibility of that Titan becoming our ally?" Annie countered. "That would be a more powerful weapon than any blade or cannon that we've got."

"Ally? You can't be serious!"

In the midst of this argument, Nap's eye caught a familiar sight as he scanned the streets of Trost. A rail-thin Titan with messy blonde hair.

"There it is!" he called out instinctively, his hands feeling clammy as he pointed toward the brute.

"That's the aberrant that killed Thomas!"

Upon seeing the familiar face, the rogue Titan received a new burst of energy, tossing aside the Titans that had been clinging to its body and charging toward the aberrant, both of its arms ripping off in the process as the smaller Titans tumbled about.

Undeterred, the rogue Titan sprinted toward the unsuspecting aberrant, swiftly clamping its jaws around the monster's neck and obliterating the vital area. Once the Titan had been deprived of its life, the rogue Titan swung it like a battering ram into the crowd of remaining Titans, demolishing the lot of them in a ferocious onslaught.

With its prey rotting all around it, the last Titan standing let out a colossal roar, steam erupting from the stumps that remained of its arms. Then, completely drained, the rogue Titan collapsed in a heap on the street, face down amidst the pile of smoldering Titan flesh.

"Well… I don't think it's getting up", said Jean, breaking the trainees' silence. "Come on, let's get out of here. How could any of you even consider having a Titan for an ally?"

The other trainees, however, remained transfixed by the Titan even as Jean took a few steps in the opposite direction.

"Hey! What's with you guys?" Jean turned his attention back to the street, and immediately dropped his jaw as he noticed what his friends were staring at.

As the rogue Titan lay motionless on the ground, the steaming nape of its neck opened up to reveal what appeared to be a human figure. Yes, Nap thought, it was unmistakably the shape of a human. But it wasn't until the human's head snapped back that Nap's mind was truly shattered.

Mikasa was the first to move almost instinctively, leaping from the roof and using her Maneuver Gear to carry her to the edge of the Titan's decaying form. From there, she scaled the edge of the beast until she reached Eren's motionless body, embracing it with every ounce of strength that she still possessed. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat.

The six trainees left on the roof were as speechless as ever as they watched the scene below them unfold. Nap's mind worked overtime in an attempt to process exactly what had transpired. Had Eren really been inside of a Titan? If so, had he been the one in control? That would explain the bloodbath that had played out in the streets below. It would also explain why the rogue Titan was so hell-bent on taking out the Titan that had eaten Thomas.

Before Nap's thoughts could catch up with the situation around him, that very situation was brought into chaos by the emergence of three unnoticed Titans from amidst a group of houses. Mikasa failed to see them while she remained occupied by Eren.

"Everyone! Three Titans closing in from the southeast!" Nap shouted at the top of his lungs as he launched himself into action. The three Titans were practically breathing down Mikasa's neck before she finally noticed their presence. At that point, however, there was nothing that she or Nap could do.

It was lucky for the trainees, then, that in that moment three sets of cables hooked themselves into the backs of the advancing Titans. Nap landed on the back of the rogue Titan, in front of Mikasa, just as the three newcomers simultaneously sliced through the vital areas of each of the monstrosities. Nap was panting from the adrenaline rush, his arms stretched to either side in a sad attempt to shield Eren and Mikasa. Lowering them to his sides, he stared at the three figures perched atop the backs of the fallen Titans.

"It's been a long time, Nap", called the soldier in the middle, a petite woman with shoulder-length brown hair who wore a wry smile. "You remember me, don't you?"

Nap remembered Anka, of course, but remembered nothing after that moment, for at that point he fell to his knees, passing out before his head hit the rogue Titan's body.

Anka blinked a couple of times before turning to Wilhelm with a perplexed look on her face.

"Was it something I said?"

_Langston, Year 850_

"You there! What's your name?" the officer called to the lone boy entering the encampment. The boy froze in place, sweating bullets as the officer strode up to him.

"Langston Pyrite", he responded with a salute. "I'm from the 104th Trainee Corps."

"A trainee?" The officer frowned. "I thought the trainees had just come back from battle. How come you're so late, and all alone?"

Langston looked down, hands clenched tightly at his sides. He gritted his teeth. In all likelihood, there was no way he was getting out of there alive. Desertion, after all, was punishable by on-the-spot execution.

"I'm sorry. I… I just couldn't-"

"He just couldn't find his squad!"

Langston looked up in shock to see Connie waving at him from over the officer's shoulder. The confused man turned around, seeing the short boy and his partner in crime, Sasha, doing their best to feign seriousness as Christa and Ymir lagged a few steps behind.

"That's our bad. We must have lost him back in the city", Connie continued.

"We promise it won't happen again", added Sasha.

The officer shook his head and walked away, all too eager to rid himself of the trainees.

"You guys didn't have to do that", Langston said, eyes still staring into the dirt at his feet.

"Of course we did", Sasha replied. "Do you really think we'd let that guy chew you out like that?"

"Nobody blames you for what happened in Trost, Langston." Ymir's voice finally caused him to look up. "Yeah, you chickened out, but that's nothing new. We all screw up sometimes. You're just as pathetic as everyone else."

"I think what she's trying to say", Christa interpreted, stepping forward and laying an angelic hand on Langston's shoulder, "Is that you're only human. You may have been scared this time, but you'll only get better the next time."

Langston had to fight off tears as he looked back and forth among the four of them. Was this really what his life had become?

"You could at least offer a 'thank you'", Ymir added sarcastically, "After all we went through to get that gas…"

"Oh, does that mean…" Langston began, afraid to ask a question that he almost certainly knew the answer to, "That the people who aren't here now are all dead?"

The four others could only bow their heads in confirmation.

"Even Mikasa? And Nap?" Langston had a hard time accepting that the two strongest members of their group had been killed so quickly.

Connie raised an eyebrow as he took in the question.

"No, I'm pretty sure they arrived later with Jean and the others."

"That's right", Sasha confirmed. "Jean said something about being sworn to secrecy."

"I don't know what happened after we left", Ymir pondered, "But it's obviously something that the higher-ups want to keep quiet for now. Not that they have much of a choice."

"What do you mean by that?" Langston asked instinctively. "Why wouldn't they have a choice?"

"Think about it", Ymir began. "The two Titans that broke through Wall Maria obviously weren't normal Titans, and the fact that they were able to perform actions that other Titans would never attempt shows that they actually have a relatively high amount of brain activity."

"I never considered that, but it makes sense", said Langston. "But if there really are intelligent Titans out there, that must mean-"

"The military doesn't want anyone to find out about whatever happened in Trost, for fear of that information leaking back to the Titans", Ymir finished.

"Could it really be?" Christa wondered aloud. "Something that could actually turn the tide in the war against the Titans?"

Langston turned toward Wall Rose, staring up into the late afternoon sky.

"We'll find out soon enough."

_Nap, Year 850_

Nap sat up with a jolt, his eyes darting around the small tent in which he lay. He had no idea how long he had been out, but the injuries he had sustained in battle all felt like they had healed.

After a few minutes, Nap heard the shuffling of feet from just beyond the entrance to the tent, and soon a figure emerged through the doorway.

"Hello, Nap. You haven't changed at all, my grandson."


	7. Return to Trost Pt 1: He Won't Fail

_Nap and Commander Pixis, Year 845_

Napoleon Pixis glanced into their eyes, one by one, as they all stared up at him. Their faces were barely visible from his vantage point, but he didn't need to see them clearly to know exactly what was going on in their heads. There was only one possible answer.

The Titans wanted to eat him. And every other human like him.

"Do they frighten you, Nap?" asked his grandfather, staring down from the top of Wall Rose into the same mass of giant bodies.

In his eleven years, Nap had never really thought about it. He had, of course, heard stories about the gruesome feats that the Titans had accomplished. However, growing up in the Inner District, he had never really paid much heed to the threats that the Titans posed. The attack on Wall Maria had changed that, obviously, but it still had not been until that very moment that Nap had seen the face of an actual Titan.

"Would it be naive of me to say no?"

Instead of answering, Dot Pixis chuckled loudly, reaching inside of his jacket and producing a flask. A few paces away, Anka began to protest, only to be quieted by a hand on the shoulder and a shake of the head from Gustav.

"That's certainly not the answer that I had expected", said the Commander after taking a large sip from the flask. "Now, would you like some?"

Dot Pixis extended the alcoholic beverage toward his eleven year old grandson. Anka looked up at her partner, concerned, but Gustav only shrugged. The two of them were definitely not the first people to be confused by the old man's actions.

Apprehensively, Nap took the flask from his grandfather, slowly brought it to his lips, and impressively drained the rest of its contents. He stood perfectly still for a few seconds, waiting for the alcohol to settle. When it finally hit him, Nap quickly brought his hand to his mouth, stifling the floodgates as best he could before finally giving up and heaving out everything over the edge of Wall Rose.

Nap dropped to one knee, panting, as he watched the contents of his stomach freefall into the mob of Titans beneath him.

"You have a weak stomach. Just like your father."

Dot Pixis shook his head. Taking a knee beside Nap, the bald man put an arm around his thick-haired grandson.

"Those Titans down there", the Commander began, "They're not frightened of you. So why in the world should you be frightened of them?"

Nap was unsure of what to say. He looked once more into the faces of the Titans. If he used his imagination, he could picture some of them as humans just like himself.

"That girl from the refugee camp", Dot Pixis said after a while. "Annie, was it?"

Nap nodded.

"Is she going to be training with you?"

"If you'll allow it", the Commander's grandson replied.

The old man looked down at the boy's face. The only distinct resemblance between the two of them were their golden eyes.

"She has the face of a warrior. She'll make a fine partner for you."

_Nap and Annie, Year 845_

"Annie, on your left!" Nap called out, alerting the short girl to the oncoming attacker. Even when training against the entirety of Anka's and Gustav's squads, the two of them were holding their own. Of course, Nap would readily admit that Annie was carrying a larger portion of the weight, but for a pair of eleven year olds going against newly-christened members of the Garrison, they were able to put up a fairly even fight.

However, Nap's exclamation blinded him to his own backside, allowing Otto to land a blow to his lower back, quickly downing the boy with the unexpected attack.

As the teenaged Otto pinned Nap to the ground, the dark-haired youth could only watch as Annie held on for a short time before being knocked down by a hit from Wilhelm.

"You two are never going to win like that", said a disappointed Anka, helping up her fellow soldiers before turning her attention to the two children on the ground.

"Annie, you fight well individually, but you've had trouble when working in a team. That's not going to cut it against the Titans. You need to not only trust your partner, but watch out for him as well. Otto was only able to take Nap down because you were too focused on yourself to notice that your partner was in danger. If you continue to fight like that, you're only going to end up letting down both yourself and your friends."

Annie looked away from Anka, both ashamed and annoyed, as the older girl advanced, grabbing Nap by the front of his shirt and lifting him up until he was eye-level with her.

"And you, Nap. You had the opposite problem. You spent so much time looking out for Annie that you couldn't defend yourself. It pains me to see you two acting so irrationally. If you weren't each at such extreme ends of the spectrum, maybe you would end up putting up a decent fight.

Anka shook her head, releasing Nap and walking over to Gustav, who whispered a few short words into her ear. Disappointed, Anka motioned to her fellow soldiers, who followed the two of them as they exited the courtyard. Anka paused at the threshold, allowing the others to pass as she gave one final look back toward her students.

"I know you two trust one another. But sometimes you don't act like it. It's as if you two become completely different people when you fight."

Anka shook her head. She still wasn't sure she was cut out for such a task. Humanity's forces had been so depleted by the attack on Wall Maria that even young soldiers like her and Gustav were entrusted with important roles. Still, Dot Pixis had shown immense faith in her, and she was not eager to let down her superior.

"We'll pick this up tomorrow. Get some rest."

Tuckered out, Nap stumbled over to Annie. The two of them had been training together for a little over a month. While Annie had proven herself a force in hand-to-hand combat, Nap had been the more proficient of the two when it came to Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.

He had met the girl soon after he left the Inner District, in a refugee camp that housed many of the survivors of the attack on Wall Maria. After skillfully ditching Anka and the rest of her squad, Nap had seen the girl sitting by herself with a look in her eyes that was halfway between boredom and despair.

"Do you think Anka's right?" Nap asked as he took a seat next to her, just as he had done on that day. "Are we really just too different?"

"I don't know if that's a bad thing", Annie replied softly. "When someone is weak, your first instinct should be to protect them. When you yourself are weak, your first instinct should be to protect yourself."

"You think you're weak?" Nap was surprised, and for good reason. "Annie, you're a much stronger fighter than I am."

"No. It's because I'm weak that I'm able to fight like this."

"What do you mean?" Nap wasn't accustomed to hearing Annie talk this way about herself. One of the first things that he had come to know about her was her disdain for failure. She hated to lose more than anything.

"Someone like me", Annie began to explain, "Has to be able to use her opponent's strength to her advantage in order to stand a chance. That's just the way I was taught to fight."

"The way I see it, something like that in itself can make you strong."

"Then you and I have very different definitions of the word."

_Nap and Commander Pixis, Year 850_

Four and a half years later, Nap had not been awake for more than a few minutes before Dot Pixis entered into the tent where he lay.

"Can I still call you 'Grandfather'? Or is it just 'Commander Pixis' now?"

"Maybe you should call yourself 'Lucky to be Alive' while you're at it."

Nap looked up as Anka and Gustav entered the tent behind the Commander. It was true that he probably wouldn't be there if it weren't for Anka's squad, he thought as his eyes moved up and down his body. Puzzled, he noticed something unusual.

"Why are my pants so clean?" he wondered aloud. It was true that while his trainee jacket and bold red undershirt had been stained by the blood of the Titans and his comrades along with his own vomit, his white pants somehow looked as good as new.

This question led to a loud guffaw from Dot Pixis, while Anka and Gustav tried to retain their composed expressions.

"Why don't you ask Anka here all about that?"

As much as Anka had trained to keep her emotions from showing, even she could not prevent her face from growing the slightest bit red after being put on the spot like that. She felt the stares of a confused Nap, an intoxicated Dot Pixis and even a somewhat amused Gustav.

"Nap…" Anka began. "After you passed out…"

Nap's mind raced as he thought back to the last thing he felt between throwing up and falling unconscious.

"No… You mean…"

Dot Pixis could barely contain his amusement at his grandson's expense. Anka stared at the ground, while Gustav remained to her left, a slight grin on his face.

"Anka had to carry you back all by herself", the mustachioed Commander said. "Just imagine how it must have been for her, seeing as how she was actually awake, unlike you."

"Not only that", added Gustav, opening his mouth for the first time. "When you two got back-"

"Gustav!"

Anka protested, but Nap was almost completely sure of what Gustav was trying to say.

"You should consider yourself lucky, getting changed by a beauty like Anka", Dot Pixis said, causing both of their faces to become unnaturally red.

The palpable awkwardness caused by the old man was nothing new. During the time he spent living with his grandfather, Nap quickly grew to think of Anka as an older sister, but the eccentric Commander had still insisted on teasing the two of them.

Fortunately for them, the air was cleared by a monstrous explosion from somewhere nearby.

"Oh, my. It seems Captain Verman has gone off prematurely. Nap, this is where we part ways for now. Suit up and rejoin your trainee squad."

And with that, just as suddenly as he had appeared, Dot Pixis vanished, Anka and Gustav following eagerly behind.

_Annie, Miranda, Jean, Reiner, and Bertolt, Year 850_

"Miranda!" Jean exclaimed with surprise as a fifth figure landed on the roof next to him, Annie, Reiner and Bertolt.

"What's going on down there?" asked the girl with the dark brown hair. Her face had been washed since she had returned from the city, making her almost unrecognizable without the blood and tears that had tainted her pale skin.

"We've been wondering the same thing", Reiner answered.

Below the building upon which they stood, a large crowd of Garrison soldiers encircled an even larger cloud of smoke billowing out from a humongous figure that could only have been the body of a Titan. How it got inside the wall, Miranda had no idea, but she stood her ground along with the other four trainees.

After a short period of waiting, a lone human figure dramatically emerged from the smoke, startling the soldiers down below. Jean's eyes widened next to her.

"Is that…?"

"So you've finally shown yourself, monster!" yelled Captain Kitts Verman as Armin Arlert slowed to a halt, his hands held above his head.

"Why is Armin down there?" Miranda asked to no one in particular.

"I'm not sure. But if I had to guess, I'd say Eren is with him", Reiner responded.

"What are you saying? That's not possible!"

"You weren't there when the rogue Titan finally went down", said Annie. "When its body started to decay, Eren came out of the nape of its neck."

Miranda took some time to digest this information. She had witnessed Eren being devoured by a four-meter class Titan with messy blonde hair. One of his arms had been severed from his body as he reached out from the Titan's mouth. She had seen the look in his eyes as he disappeared into the belly of the beast. It had been a look of desperation. Of agony. Of fear.

"Eren can't be alive", she said quietly. "There's no way."

Her attention was quickly drawn back to the action on the ground, as Armin emphatically saluted, his voice echoing loudly enough for all of them to hear.

"I am a soldier who has pledged his heart to the efforts of humankind! If I have to die in order to fulfill that pledge, I will do it gladly! I believe that Eren's Titan power, combined with our remaining forces, may be able to retake Trost from the Titans! For the sake of humankind, in the few moments I have left, I urge you to consider this possibility!"

As Armin spoke, the smoke behind him began to clear and reveal the unmistakable forms of Eren and Mikasa. Miranda was speechless, as was Kitts Verman on the ground below.

The five trainees on the roof watched as the Captain slowly raised his hand.

_Nap, Year 850_

"Pixis! Wait!"

Nap turned to see the same short, glasses-clad woman from before. Rico Brzenska.

"I'm on my way to the top of the wall. I have orders to take you with me."

"Orders? From-"

"From the Commander, yes. Now, would you care to join me?"

"Yes, sir."

That was how Nap suddenly found himself swept along by Rico, somehow struggling to keep up with his much smaller superior.

"Rico", Nap started, "Do you know what my grandfather is planning?"

Rico turned her head back toward him, teeth gritted in a grotesque semi-smile.

"He's planning to send us back out there. To retake Trost."

Nap froze in place. He couldn't believe that his grandfather was thinking of sending them back into that hellzone. He thought back to all of the friends he had lost in that city. He thought of Thomas, of Mylius, of Jacob, of Franz, of Selim, of Ellen. He thought of Mina.

During the battle, those were the types of thoughts that would have made Nap lose both his nerve and his lunch. But here and now…

"Tell me", Nap said firmly, looking down at Rico. "Does Commander Pixis know about Eren Jaeger?"

"You're a smart kid", Rico replied, turning around and continuing toward the wall. "I'm sure you can figure that one out for yourself."

Nap's thoughts swirled as he half-listened to his grandfather's voice blasting from the top of the wall. Dot Pixis was almost certainly planning to have Eren seal the hole in the gate by using his Titan form. He would likely be accompanied by a group of soldiers that would fend off nearby Titans. However, in order to minimize the death toll…

"Rico!" Nap called out, jogging up next to her. "Will I be able to speak with my grandfather prior to the beginning of the mission?"

"I don't see why not. Is there something you know that Commander Pixis doesn't?"

"Yeah, you could say that. There's something I need to tell him."

By the time the two of them had climbed to the top of the wall, Dot Pixis had already finished laying out his plans for all of the soldiers below. The Commander hailed Nap and Rico as they walked as briskly as ever toward where he stood with two other soldiers from the Garrison.

"I'm glad you could make it, Rico", Dot Pixis said lightly. "Now we can begin. First and foremost, you all have one assignment: Protect Eren Jaeger and eliminate all threats that may arise. It is likely the most dangerous and difficult assignment of this entire mission. It would not be an overstatement to say that your success or failure will determine the fate of humanity."

"Commander, may I speak?" Rico asked calmly, falling into line with the others.

"Of course", responded Pixis.

"Will that so-called human weapon really work? Will that boy be able to plug the hole?"

"Stop that, Rico", snapped the man to her right.

"You have doubts too, don't you?" she shot back.

"Commander", opened the third elite soldier, "I have an issue with our reliance on Eren Jaeger, a completely unknown element. If he fails, many soldiers will die in vain."

"He won't fail", Nap called out from behind his grandfather, surprising Rico and the others as they all turned to look at him.

"Eren doesn't know the meaning of failure. I saw his Titan powers firsthand in Trost. So did you." He pointed accusingly at the bearded man to Rico's left. "How can you doubt him after seeing what he's capable of?"

"Now, Nap, don't take such a tone with these three", Dot Pixis warned almost facetiously. "It's not as if they've got an easy task ahead. Now then."

Commander Pixis turned back to the three soldiers. He gave his mustache a light twirl with one hand.

"Why is it that you people enjoy losing to the Titans?" Rico and the other two soldiers were speechless, staring at their superior with wide eyes and mouths.

"I hate losing", Dot Pixis continued. "My grandson here can attest to that. I never once allowed him to defeat me in a game of chess, even going so far as to shake his confidence. I would absolutely crush him every time, simply because I could."

Nap grimaced slightly at the memory.

"However, against the Titans, all we've managed to do is lose since day one. I'm not sure about you", Pixis said, turning his back to all of them, "But I'd like to beat the Titans. I'd like nothing more than to beat those dimwitted brutes."

"We feel the same way!" Rico responded in her defense.

"Then our only hope is to put our faith in him." Pixis returned his gaze to his handpicked elite squad. "What you call an 'unknown element' is, in all reality, humanity's last hope."

At that moment, Anka and Gustav approached the gathering.

"Commander, it's time to begin the decoy strategy", called the old man's male escort.

"Right. Now then." The old man turned back toward the three soldiers in front of him. "Ian Dietrich, Rico Brzenska, and Mitabi Jarnach. You are the best that the Garrison has to offer. I leave the fate of humanity in your hands."

With a unified "Yes, sir!", the three of them saluted.

"Ian, you'll be in charge of the regiment", Pixis continued. "I'm leaving all field decisions up to you."

"Me?" questioned Ian.

"I have no objections", stated Rico.

"Neither do I", Mitabi added.

"Do you really think I'm qualified to-"

"Don't worry about it", Commander Pixis said assuringly. "You know your alcohol. You can tell the good from the bad. I'm counting on you."

After a final "Yes, sir!", Ian, Rico and Mitabi scattered off to assemble their elite squads.

Dot Pixis made a move to leave with Anka and Gustav, but was held back by a word from his grandson.

"Grandfather!" Nap called out. "I mean, Commander Pixis!"

The old man turned toward the boy, an amused look in his golden eyes.

"Is something the matter, Nap?"

"There's something that I need to discuss with you", Nap said somewhat nervously. "It might be good if Anka and Gustav listened as well."

Dot Pixis motioned for his two escorts to come over, and the three of them listened intently to the boy that they all knew so well.

"Listen…" Nap started slowly. "I don't know why it happened, but when I was in Trost, fighting the Titans… They ignored me."

"Ignored you?" Gustav's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"

"They didn't attack me", Nap continued. "There was one point where I was lying on the ground, following a Maneuver Gear malfunction, and four Titans just walked right past me without even looking in my direction."

"That could be a fluke", Anka suggested. "Aberrant-type Titans have been known to ignore lone humans and pursue larger groups."

"No, that wasn't it." Nap shook his head. "These same Titans all tried to attack the other trainees. Yet none of them paid any attention to me. It was like they saw me as a Titan just like them."

Nap regretted saying it as soon as he had done so, but he had been thinking it the entire time. The way the Titans treated him was no different than the way they treated others of their own kind.

"So, we have a Titan that gets attacked by other Titans, and a human that gets ignored by Titans." Dot Pixis chortled lightly. "This day couldn't possibly get any stranger."

"Grandfather, I know that I can make a difference in this battle if you let me."

"You don't have to convince me, Nap. Even if you didn't have this unique trait, you would still be able to make a difference. But this changes everything. Ian!"

Pixis called out to the man that he had just put in charge of the elite squad. Ian had been talking to Eren, Armin, and Mikasa, whom Nap noticed for the first time.

"Commander Pixis", Ian said, greeting his superior.

"There's been a slight change of plans", the old man said amusedly. "Nap here is going to join your elite squad. Not only that, but he'll be going in ahead of the rest of you."

"What do you mean?" Ian was naturally taken aback.

"Nap is going to enter the city ahead of the rest of the team", Pixis continued. "Once he does, someone from your team will fire a green flare. From that point on, Nap will proceed with taking out every Titan between the boulder and the gate."

Ian's shocked face looked like it was about to fall off.

"You expect me to believe that this boy can kill dozens of Titans by himself? Commander Pixis, with all due respect-"

"This boy is my grandson, and I trust him with the lives of every single human. He will not fail. You have my word, Ian. And you have your orders."

Regaining his composure, Ian nodded, saluting the Commander before motioning for Nap to follow him.

Nap gave one final look to his grandfather, Anka, and Gustav. Their three faces displayed nothing but confidence and faith in him. They had all played a part in making him the soldier that he had become. He wasn't about to let them down.

"Do you think he's for real?" Anka asked after Nap was out of earshot. "Is he really invisible to the Titans?"

Dot Pixis grinned at her.

"That boy knows how to lie. And that's exactly why I know he's telling the truth."

_Miranda, Year 850_

"Ew, is that really what I used to look like?"

Miranda, when bored, would often think out loud, even when there was no one nearby to care about what she was saying. The Titans below certainly didn't.

Like many other soldiers, Miranda had been assigned to hang from the wall using her Maneuver Gear, baiting the Titans as they crowded around her and luring them away from Eren.

"Eren… I still can't believe he's alive."

Miranda vividly recalled all of the events that had taken place in Trost. She pictured Eren's demise over and over again, not finding any way that he could have been able to escape. It wasn't only Eren. She could see everyone who had died under her command. Herschel. Aldon. Ruth. Joseph. There was only one death she hadn't actually witnessed, and that was…

"I really need something to do besides stare at you guys", she admitted to the Titans. "You're really bumming me out with your ugliness."

"And you're really getting on my nerves with your constant yapping."

Miranda hadn't noticed Ymir hanging several meters to her left. She slapped on a sheepish grin and waved at the other girl.

"Sorry about that. You know I can't stay quiet for long."

"Whatever. I'm almost used to it by now."

Miranda's grin faded.

"Ymir really knows how to suck the life out of things", she said before she could stop herself.

Putting a hand over her mouth, she glanced back toward the freckled girl, who merely rolled her eyes. Miranda let out a sigh.

"You and I really aren't too different, Miranda."

Ymir surprised her with that.

"What do you mean?"

"Jean said that you slacked off so that someone else could have a chance at a better life."

"That's right. You did the same for Christa, didn't you?"

"I tried." Ymir shook her head.

Miranda remembered that Christa had finished just outside the top ten, Ymir right behind her. They had both been leapfrogged by Langston, who finished strong and earned the eighth spot.

"The main difference between us", Miranda said softly, "Is that you did it because you cared deeply for someone else. I did it because I didn't care about myself."

_Nap, Year 850_

Rico fired the green signal flare as Nap leapt from the wall and back into the city of Trost. The other soldiers hadn't taken well to the changes to the plan, but they all went along with it. Ian, after being skeptical at first, had given Nap his vote of confidence.

Firing out his cables, Nap swung through the desolate streets of the ghost town, seeking out the boulder that had been mentioned by his grandfather. Once he was able to find it, he stationed himself on top of a roof, scanning the streets for Titans. He could feel himself drifting back into the same state of mind that he had been in during his last battle with them. Nap shook the feeling off as he spotted a pair of Titans to his left.

Like before, the Titans failed to even acknowledge his presence as he almost effortlessly sliced through the napes of their necks. It was child's play, really. Nap actually found himself feeling a bit of sympathy for the brutes as he parred the flesh from their weak points again and again until he returned to the rooftop overlooking the boulder.

Fumbling with the flare gun at his waist, Nap heard the footsteps of a Titan that he had missed. He turned around, preparing to make his move.

But he couldn't.

He just stood there, allowing the flare gun to drop to the roof. He stood there while the Titan reached a trembling hand toward him. He stood staring into the face of a fourteen-meter class Titan that looked exactly like her.

Exactly like Mina.

"Nap…"


	8. Return to Trost Pt 2: Someway or Another

_Nap, Annie, Mina, and Langston, Year 847_

They had only been trainees for a few weeks when it happened. It was sudden, almost surreal, and at first most of the trainees didn't even believe that it was actually true.

Just the day before, Rita had been there, training with the rest of them, and now she was dead.

It hadn't been a Titan that had killed her. They were still almost three years away from being fit to face the monsters that lurked outside the walls. In all actuality, no one was sure what had been the cause of Rita's death. It may have been overexertion, or dehydration, or some combination of afflictions. But the effect that it had on the other trainees was much more clear.

Four of them sat together at a table during dinner time. Nap and Annie on one side, Mina and Langston on the other. None of them had gotten to know Rita very well. None of them had even talked to her for more than a few seconds during the time that they had spent together.

It was as common for Annie to be silent as it was rare for Langston and Mina. Nap ate his food in total peace like the rest of them, along with most of the other trainees in the room, but the shabby meals that they had gotten used to eating tasted worse on that day than ever before.

"Nap…" Mina said quietly, her voice barely breaking the silence. "You never told us. What do you plan on doing after you graduate? Do you want to join the Military Police and go back to the interior? Or will you join the Garrison like your grandfather?"

Nap looked briefly at Annie, then looked down.

"Neither. I'm going to join the Survey Corps, like my father."

"Your father?" Mina looked as surprised as she could have in the subdued state that she was in. "You've never talked about him with us, have you?"

"There really isn't much to talk about."

And there really wasn't.

"I never knew him. He joined the Survey Corps and got eaten by a Titan on his very first mission. By the time I was born, he was already dead."

"And you want to follow in his footsteps?" Langston spoke up for the first time. He had an unfamiliar hint of fire in his voice. "That's completely asinine. If you join the Survey Corps, you'll just die for nothing. You seriously want to throw your life away like that?"

"What are you saying, Langston?" Mina asked in defense of Nap. "You've always talked about protecting the people in these walls."

"He's not wrong, Mina", Nap interrupted. The two trainees on the opposite side looked at him. Annie's face remained sullen, but he knew that she was just as attentive as the others. He had, after all, had a similar conversation with her not too long ago. "However, Stan Pixis didn't die for nothing. Neither did Rita Hermann. They died while attempting to aid in humanity's struggle against the Titans."

"They died so that we could live", Annie finished for him, as if she had rehearsed it.

_Nap, Year 850_

"Nap…"

His mouth formed the shape of a scream, but nothing came out. The horror that came from staring into the Titan's eyes was more than he could stand without losing his mind.

There was absolutely no denying it. The Titan that was reaching out to him had her face. He had even heard her voice when he had turned around. But if that was really the case…

Looking into its eyes, into _her_ eyes, Nap felt the entire world freeze around him. His thoughts slowed down until they came to a complete halt. That was when he snapped.

Nap slashed out at the Titan's hand, finally finding the ability to let forth a deranged cry as he lept from the roof, sprinting down the Titan's arm and tearing into its flesh with his two blades. He struck at the creature's chest before his wrath led him to its legs and back. He moved in an erratic blur as his blank mind carried him across the Titan's body, slicing and dicing the helpless being without any semblance of remorse, letting its blood splatter across his face, feeling the satisfaction of it the whole time.

The Titan screamed in agony as Nap's frenzy came to its peak. The boy swung his blades blindly at the monster's face, carving it up until it no longer came close to resembling the girl whom he knew to be dead.

He knew that the Titan was feeling pain, and he was glad.

"Nap! What are you doing?"

He snapped out of his trance as Mikasa's voice preceded an eruption of blood from the Titan's neck. Nap watched with his gaping eyes as the Titan with the now-unrecognizable face fell onto its back, lying dead in the streets of Trost like so many others.

Nap fell back onto the roof, panting and covered from head to toe with already-evaporating blood, just as an ear-splitting crash shook the air behind him. There would be time to pay attention to Eren's transformation later. Now, he peered down from the roof, his entire body shaking as he got a second look at the decomposing form of the Titan.

The giant that had stolen the face of his friend had been cut into a completely disfigured lump of flesh and blood. Mikasa had done it a favor by ending its life. As he calmed down, Nap slowly convinced himself that he wasn't even sure that the Titan had truly looked like Mina, and instead began to doubt that he had seen it clearly, or heard her voice at all. The battle had taken a toll on him to the point where he would have been susceptible to something of the sort. What he was more concerned about was the rampage that he had just completed.

He had completely lost himself in a mix of grief and anger that had been eating away at him and building up inside of him ever since Thomas had been killed. Normally, Nap was not one to let his emotions get the better of him, particularly in battle, but every death had made the feelings grow stronger, especially Mina's. Just now, seeing the Titan with her face...

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind with a great deal of effort, he turned around in time to see Mikasa dive out of the way as Eren's Titan form slammed its fist into the roof on which she had been standing.

"Ackerman!" Ian Dietrich shouted, sprinting toward the girl who had been knocked completely off-balance by the sheer power of the Titan. Nap hadn't noticed them due to his preoccupation with his own Titan, but the members of the elite squad had all gathered on the surrounding houses of Trost. Ian must have made the decision to enter after determining that Nap was taking too much time.

As soon as Mikasa had regained her footing, Eren once again thrust a Titan fist toward her, but this time she was ready. She dodged the blow and used her Maneuver Gear to climb up to the Titan's face, hanging on by a lock of his dark hair as she looked into his eyes.

"Ackerman!" Ian once again called out. "Get away from him!"

"Mikasa, he can't control himself!" Nap yelled in agreement. Something was wrong with Eren.

The girl was determined, however, to get through to her adoptive brother. Rico Brzenska, on the other hand, had already dropped to one knee and loaded her red flare. Covering her ears, she fired the gun into the sky.

Eren's right hand trembled visibly as the steam around it cleared. Mikasa had not given up on reasoning with him, but the others knew that her pursuit was in vain.

"Get away, Ackerman!" Ian yelled again, only a split second before the Titan that held Eren inside of it slammed its fist into its own face. Mikasa managed to jump off and avoid the hit as the Titan fell to the ground, sitting with its head down and its legs spread in front of it like a schoolboy in timeout.

"He's nothing but a stupid Titan like the rest of them", remarked a disappointed Mitabi Jarnach as Mikasa landed on the roof in front of him.

"Squad Leader Ian!" a voice rang out from a few houses away. "Two Titans approaching from the front! One ten-meter and one six-meter!"

"Another, a twelve-meter, coming from the rear!"

"Ian, we have to retreat", Mitabi pleaded with the man in charge of the mission. "That kid's never gonna plug the hole."

"Yeah", Rico agreed, "We don't have any choice but to leave him here."

Nap studied Eren's Titan form. It looked no different from the one that he had seen slaughtering Titans earlier in the day. If it was really Eren controlling the Titan, and not the other way around, why had he tried to attack Mikasa?

_104th Trainee Corps, Year 850_

"Hey, look at that!" Victor Paulus called out, getting the attention of the other soldiers in his area.

"A red signal flare?" asked Nack Tius. "What happened?"

"They… failed…" murmured a dejected Marco Bott.

The top of Wall Rose was littered with members of the 104th who had returned from luring the Titans to the edge of town. All of them were now able to witness Rico's signal that the mission had gone awry.

"How…"

Without warning, Armin Arlert broke into a run, covering more distance than his short legs should have been capable of as he headed for the eastern side of the wall.

"Armin!" Langston Pyrite called out after him, "Where are you going?"

The blonde-haired boy turned around, his eyes holding a determined look that had become more and more typical of him.

"Something happened to Eren. I have to go see what it is."

Failing to explain much, Armin turned and once again began to sprint along the wall toward the location of the elite squad.

Langston gritted his teeth. He knew that Armin was doing the right thing as well as the noble thing. Eren was his comrade as well, after all. Nap and Mikasa had also been assigned to the elite squad as far as he had been told. Even so, Langston couldn't bring himself to follow. There was no way that he could go back there.

He just couldn't face the Titans again.

_Elite Squad, Year 850_

"What's there to think about, Ian?" Mitabi asked the field commander as Nap landed on the roof next to Mikasa and the three elite soldiers. "Just give the order! We all know it's not your fault. It was a shaky plan from the start. We all knew that going in, and it was worth a try, but it's failed."

Ian stood, silent, as the footsteps of the Titans grew closer.

"That's it." Mitabi turned to leave. "My squad is heading up the wall."

Nap knew from the start that Mitabi was making a bad decision. As the bearded man took his first step, Mikasa stalked after him, blades raised, before Ian put out an arm to stop her.

"Calm down, Ackerman", said the tall soldier before facing the other two members of the Garrison. "Squad Rico, take out the twelve-meter behind us. My squad along with Mitabi's will take out the other two."

"What?" Rico stepped toward him, exasperated.

"I was put in command here", Ian replied firmly, shutting her up before she began. "Now follow my orders. We can't leave Jaeger behind unprotected. From this point forward, we're changing the plan."

Rico stepped back, startled.

"We're going to protect Jaeger from the Titans", the squad leader continued, "Until we can bring him back. He's a rare asset to humankind. We can't just abandon him. Unlike us, he's not replaceable."

"Squad Leader Ian."

Nap spoke up for the first time, stepping forward to stand next to Mikasa. The attention of the three elite soldiers turned to him.

"If I may", the Commander's grandson said through a mask of composure, "I think I know a way that we can protect both Eren and ourselves."

"Are you crazy, Pixis?" Rico barked. "You're actually going along with this? Our men are dying out here as we speak!"

"That's exactly why we need to keep going", Nap responded. "Someway or another, we need to beat these Titans. If we can't do that, then what's this all been about? What have we been working toward?"

"He's right", said Ian. "We have to keep on trying, regardless of how many people die!"

Rico and Mitabi looked on in stunned silence as Ian turned to the golden-eyed boy next to him.

"Now then, Pixis. What do you have in mind?"

"When we were here earlier, in the HQ building", Nap began, "The Titans had us completely surrounded. However, when Eren showed up in his Titan form, they all turned their attention to him. By the time we were on the outside of the building, none of them even noticed that we were present."

"What are you telling us, exactly?" asked Ian.

"It might just be a hunch", Nap continued, "But I believe that the size of Eren's Titan body makes him more attractive to the Titans than even a massive quantity of humans. That's also why the Titans are approaching us now instead of going for the soldiers on the walls."

"I see." Ian pondered his words for a few moments. "So, if the Titans are completely focused on Eren, we should be able to take them out when they're not paying attention to us."

"It's a flimsy plan", added Nap. "If we move too slowly, the Titans will notice us and pick us off."

"Are you seriously suggesting that?" Mikasa seemed as angry with him as she had been with Mitabi. "You want to use Eren as bait for the Titans?"

"It's our best bet", Nap tried to assure her. "You can either throw your life away protecting Eren, or you can follow my plan and live long enough to see him again."

Mikasa begrudgingly shut her mouth, albeit after a soft growl in his direction.

"It's better than anything I could have come up with", Ian admitted. "We'll do it exactly like you've drawn it up. We'll lure the Titans to Eren, and as soon as they've become fixated on him, we'll move in for the kill."

"Ian, you can't be serious!" Rico pleaded with him to no avail.

"Tell me", he asked her, "How else are we going to defeat the Titans? Can you tell me that, Rico?"

Rico's shoulders fell.

"How am _I_ supposed to know that?"

"That's why this is the only thing we can do", Ian replied, staring at the uninspiring figure of Eren's Titan form sitting on the ground below him. "We have to suck it up and do everything we can to protect that thing down there. It may be pathetic, but it's the only chance we've got."

Nap gave a look back to Mikasa, who now held his gaze with a respectful one of her own. Rico clenched her teeth, beads of sweat running down her cheeks.

"I can't go along with that", Rico said coldly, walking away.

"Rico!" Ian yelled.

"However", she called out behind her, "I'll follow your plan. You and the boy are right. We'll put up a fight and show the Titans exactly what we're made of, because I refuse to die the death of a dog. My squad will bring in the twelve-meter class behind us, and I'll kill it myself once it gets close enough to Jaeger."

With that Rico walked quickly in one direction, Mitabi in the other.

"Let's go", said the bearded soldier to the mission's leader. "We've got the two in front."

"Yeah…" was all Ian managed to get out before Mitabi was gone.

"Thank you, Ian", said Mikasa, keeping her place at his side.

"No need to thank me, Ackerman", he replied. "I didn't know what you'd do, so you scared the shit out of me earlier, but for now I want you and Pixis to carry out the plan how you see fit, and move on your own. That'll put your abilities to the best use."

"Yes, sir", came the response from Mikasa, as well as Nap, who came up beside her.

"You'll have to work extra hard to protect your boyfriend, Ackerman."

_Miranda, Year 850_

"Listen up!" called the commanding officer from the Garrison. "We can't let the Titans leave this corner of the town. Just concentrate, and keep them drawn to you. You don't need to engage them, got it? Trainees will run along the ground in groups of three until you come to the wall, then leap up onto it. Don't get yourselves killed. If a Titan gets away, we of the Garrison will take care of it."

"That sounds like a lot of work", complained Miranda. She had been assigned to a squad along with Jean and Connie. "Are you sure I can't just go back and get some sleep?"

"If you think that will help humanity in any way, Sieyes", replied the officer sarcastically.

The mood was ruined by a series of crashes from nearby. The Titans had greeted them with a warm welcome.

"Squad Kirstein, move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

_Annie, Year 850_

"Nice one, Annie!" Marco called out as the petite-looking girl shredded the neck of a seven-meter class Titan.

She landed on the ground beside him without a word. Not one to follow orders willingly, or to work well in a team, Annie Leonhardt was not overly welcoming of Marco's presence.

"We're not supposed to try and kill them, though", Ava reminded her. "The mission is just to lead them to the wall."

"I'm sorry", was what the other blonde responded through tight lips. "Next time I'll just let them eat you."

_Elite Squad, Year 850_

Nap's blades cut cleanly through the neck of a six-meter class Titan. As his Maneuver Gear carried him upwards and onto the nearest roof, he witnessed Mikasa slicing through the weak spot of the ten-meter class that had been next to it. He had killed all of the Titans that had been in the area before the start of the mission, but the vile creatures kept pouring through the hole in the wall that the Colossal Titan had created. His initial plan had worked well enough when there were only a few Titans in the area, but with a significant number of them approaching, the soldiers would never be able to kill them fast enough without risking their own lives.

Making things worse for Nap, he was running low on blades. He had killed at least a dozen Titans already, and that didn't even include the one that he had gone berserk on. He could always head for the walls if he ran out, but at the present time he was entirely focused on defending Eren and killing off every Titan that he could get his blades on.

"Pixis!" called Ian from the opposite roof. "There's a thirteen-meter closing in on Jaeger!"

That was all Nap needed to hear before he took off in the direction of the pathetic-looking Titan that Eren had transformed into.

Firing his hooks into its neck, Nap made quick work of the Titan that had been reaching out toward Eren's motionless body. It joined the group of decaying bodies that lay around him, made up of Titans that had been killed while trying to make their way toward Eren.

Nap brushed his hair out of his face, his hand becoming soaked with sweat as he did so. Surveying his surroundings, he was not in the least bit thrilled to see multiple Titans headed toward the area, neglecting the humans that had lured them into the corner and instead focusing their attention on the large body of the Titan shifter. His theory had been correct, at the very least. The Titans were more inclined to pursue Eren than even the hundreds of humans that lined the walls.

"Nap!"

For the first time, he noticed Armin standing on the back of Eren's Titan body.

"What happened to Eren?" he asked.

"You have to get away from him!" Nap shouted back. "I don't know why, but he can't control his Titan powers this time around. Not even Mikasa could get through to him."

"And the mission?"

"We're holding out hope." Nap was lying through his teeth. The only thing that they were holding out hope for was their own survival. "But the way it's going…"

Nap's sentence trailed off as he spotted a familiar figure rushing down the street toward them, long black hair trailing out behind it as it scampered on arms and legs in pursuit of the unmoving form of Eren's body. It wasn't the same one as before, but Nap recognized its type all too well, and there was no way that he could move in time to stop it.

It was a crawling aberrant-type Titan, just like the one that had eaten Jacob and Franz.

"Armin! Look out!"

_Jean, Year 850_

_I can't believe this piece of shit broke at a time like this!_

That thought ran through Jean's mind as he himself ran through the streets of Trost. The angry-faced Titan was still lumbering after him. He had avoided it once, but without the use of his Maneuver Gear, he was fighting a losing battle.

Noticing an open door, Jean took refuge inside a house that had been abandoned during the evacuation. The home still had food on the table and papers scattered about on the floor.

Jean sat against the wall, catching his breath as he listened to the Titan's footsteps outside.

"Dammit, I can't be the one holding everyone back!"

Jean looked up and out the window at the approaching Titan. It was only a matter of time before it caught him, and without the use of his Maneuver Gear, he was a sitting duck. Connie had probably already made it to the top of the wall. He would never be able to get back to Jean in time, even if he did notice that his teammate was missing.

Jean barely noticed the movement on the edge of his field of vision, but as soon as he did, the angry-looking Titan's neck burst open, blood gushing from the cut as the monster fell forward, its lifeless eyes still scowling at Jean through the glass.

_Nap and Armin, Year 850_

"Armin! Look out!"

The boy turned around as the crawling Titan leapt through the air toward the spot where he stood on the back of Eren's Titan form. There was no time for Nap do do anything, and there were no other soldiers in the area who could have stopped the aberrant.

All Nap could do was watch in horror as Armin stumbled backward, raising his blades clumsily in a desperate attempt to save himself.

He then watched as the crawling Titan was smashed to bits by a punch from Eren's Titan fist.

It had happened almost instantly, but Eren had apparently recovered his senses in time to save the life of his best friend. Nap's face grew into a grin as the Rogue Titan was reborn, its hands and face regenerating completely. Armin jumped down from its back as the Titan stood on its own two feet, roaring as it had done after killing the aberrant that had eaten Thomas.

This was Eren Jaeger, the embodiment of humanity's rage.

_Jean and Miranda, Year 850_

Jean rushed out the door of the house that he had been hiding in, coming to a halt in front of the dead body of the Titan that had chased him into it. As he looked up, a well-known figure landed on the Titan's back.

"Miranda?" Jean said in wonder. "Where the hell did you come from? And where did you run off to?"

"You could at least give me a 'thank you' after I saved your life, you know." The Invisible Soldier hopped off of the Titan's back, coming face-to-face with Jean as she stretched out her arms and feigned a yawn. "Anyway, we'd better get moving. That wasn't exactly the only Titan left in this city, after all."

"Yeah…" Jean's voice trailed off as he tried to activate his Maneuver Gear, before quickly remembering why he was in that situation in the first place.

"So, that's why you were hiding in there? Not because of the big, scary Titans?"

"This isn't the time, Miranda!" He scowled at her carelessness, despite the fact that she had been the one to save him.

"Relax, Jean." She patted him on the shoulder before pointing over it. "There's a dead guy over there, under that boulder. His Maneuver Gear looks like it's intact."

"Right."

Miranda took to the rooftops as Jean fiddled with the Maneuver Gear. She was able to spot two Titans of about ten meters only a short distance from them, as well as a smaller Titan that was even closer. She was also able to spot three figures that were even smaller than Titans.

"Miranda!"

She hailed Marco's squad as they all dropped onto her roof. Ava had tied back her blonde hair for the first time since Miranda had known her, and Annie looked as disinterested as ever.

"Where's the rest of your squad?" asked Marco as the trio landed.

"Jean's down on the ground", Miranda answered. "His Maneuver Gear stopped working, so he's found a way to replace it. As for Connie…"

Miranda was interrupted by a disturbing racket coming from the direction of the two larger Titans.

"Ah, there he is."

Connie had gotten himself into a pickle, crash-landing on a roof that was directly in the vicinity of the two Titans. He was still able to activate his Maneuver Gear, and managed to flee from them before anything serious happened and head in the direction of the others.

He landed on the roof in a hurry, careening into Miranda, who put out both hands to ease his impact. As she did, one of Connie's paring blades managed to nick the tip of her left thumb.

Miranda cursed as she spun away from the stumbling Connie.

"You clumsy son of a-"

She quickly stopped herself, shaking her head and putting on her usual grinning facade. She couldn't allow her anger to get out of hand, and the pain from the small cut would soon heal, after all.

"Sorry", Connie said simply, eyeing her as if begging for forgiveness.

Miranda put a hand on his fuzzy head as she walked to the other end of the rooftop. The Titans that had already been in the area were drawing ever closer.

"Looks like these guys want a fight", she remarked as Jean landed on the roof next to her.

"These settings are going to take some getting used to", Jean complained.

"We don't have time for that now", said Ava. "Our job is to get to the wall, right?"

"Right."

"There are three Titans and six of us", Marco stated. "How about we divide and conquer?"

"Good idea", affirmed Jean. "Miranda, come with me. The rest of you can handle the other two."

"Sounds like a plan", said Ava, joining Connie, Marco and Annie as they swung toward the two Titans approaching from the southern end of the town.

"So, were you just trying to get me alone?" Miranda teased once the others were out of earshot.

"Stop messing around", Jean growled, launching his hooks toward the lone Titan that was closing in on them.

The unfamiliar Maneuver Gear was quite literally his downfall.

"Dammit!" he yelled as he careened into the ground. "Why's the trigger so hard to pull?"

He fiddled with it for a moment before realizing that he had bigger things to worry about. The Titan was advancing toward him, only a few steps away from its next meal. Jean's body ached from the fall.

"Seriously", Miranda said, landing on the ground behind him, "Do I have to do all the work around here?"

Miranda fired her hooks into the face of the oncoming Titan, taking off on a run to her right before using her momentum to pull herself past its disproportionately large head. Before the Titan could react, she spun around in the air, shooting her hooks into the monster's neck. From there, it was a simple task to slash through its vital area.

"Ta-da!"

Miranda landed on the ground next to Jean, who had risen to his feet and was again trying to make sense of his new Maneuver Gear. He looked toward the girl who was his equal in height as she smiled to herself while cleaning her blades.

"Miranda…" Jean started. "How can you be like this?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up from her work.

"How can you be so carefree at a time like this?" he continued. "Don't think I've forgotten what you were like at the HQ. What's changed since then?"

The smile faded from Miranda's face. She brushed back the bangs that normally reached her eyebrows.

"I'm not a leader like you, Jean. Most of the time I'm perfectly fine just sitting back and following orders. But when I was in charge of that squad, and everyone around me was getting eaten, I didn't know what to do. If it was just me, I would have been fine, but..."

"You're saying that you don't care about being out here and risking your own life as long as other people are okay?"

"I try not to get caught up in it", she admitted. "Even in the heat of battle, I try to just be myself. But when people start to die…"

"I see." Jean nodded, looking up and around, anywhere but at her. "I guess that's something I can relate to."

"We should head for the wall", Miranda said after a short silence, noticing the heads of their comrades coming toward them over the buildings of Trost.

"Yeah."

The two of them hoisted themselves up using their Maneuver Gear, joining the other four trainees as they flew toward the wall. They were fortunate to not encounter any other Titans on their way to the top of Wall Rose.

"In the end, I guess that could have gone worse", said Miranda, rubbing her hip as she stood up.

None of the others said anything, except for Annie.

"Look, over there."

_Elite Squad, Year 850_

Nap made his way through the rows of houses, listening to the thunderous footsteps of the Rogue Titan as it somehow carried the boulder atop its head.

"Mikasa!" Armin called out as the two of them caught sight of the black-haired girl, standing next to Ian and appearing just as transfixed as they were.

She turned around and greeted the two boys as they landed next to her. It was Armin, nearly out of breath, who confirmed for her what she was seeing.

"Eren's back!" he exclaimed. "Now he's trying to complete the mission. If we can cover him until he reaches the gate…"

"We'll have won", Nap finished for him emphatically.

Squad Leader Ian needed no further convincing.

"Protect him to the death! Even if it costs us our lives, protect him until he reaches the gate! You three", he said, turning to the trainees, "go with Eren. That's an order!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ian started toward the edge of the roof, but the action on the ground below stopped him in his tracks.

"Squad Mitabi? What the hell?"

Mitabi and the three remaining members of his squad were running along the ground, chasing the five Titans that were walking slowly toward Eren.

"Going on the ground… That's suicide!" remarked Armin. "They can't fight if they can't use their Maneuver Gear!"

"No, it's the only way left", Ian returned. "Follow Mitabi's lead!" yelled the bold soldier as he jumped from the safety of the roof.

"We should join him", Mikasa said simply.

Armin nodded, following her lead as she in turn followed Ian's. Nap held back, unnoticed by the two of them.

There were five Titans between Eren and the gate. Mitabi's squad had lured away two. Nap was sure that with the trait that he possessed, even though he still had no idea why or how it worked, he would be able to take down at least one of the remaining three.

This was where he would make a difference.

With a head full of steam, Nap sprang from the rooftop, swinging from a nearby building and somersaulting through the air before coming down directly on the nape of a smiling seven-meter Titan's neck. Nap quickly brought his blades to the creature's weak point, slashing through it in one swift motion before the Titan could open its mouth to devour the last surviving member of Rico's squad.

As soon as Nap had cut through the the Titan's neck, the blade that he held in his left hand snapped into a dozen fragments, falling to the ground just as the Titan did.

Nap staggered a bit as he landed, reaching back to retrieve a new blade, only to find out that his stash had run dry. He hopped off the body of the Titan, looking around at the four remaining ones that fought against the soldiers who had been brave enough to sacrifice their lives for a small victory like this. He looked up into the face of a bald-headed Titan, one that had crushed Mitabi with its foot, as it reached down toward the soldier from the Garrison that he had saved, who was still struggling to escape the grasp of the dead Titan on the ground.

"Nap, I'm here!"

Blood spurted from the Titan's neck as Nap heard the last voice that he had expected. As the Titan fell onto its back, Langston Pyrite landed on his feet next to his friend, blades covered in the unmistakeable blood of the Titan.

"Langston?" Nap was understandably puzzled. "What are you…"

"I decided that I wouldn't be able to live with myself", Langston said solemnly. "No matter how scared I am, I just wouldn't be able to stomach losing anyone else. Not after Mina."

"I see", Nap replied with an awkward but reassuring smile, returning his attention to the battle at hand. Eren had nearly reached the gate. With one Titan remaining between him and his task, humanity's victory was nearly guaranteed. Nap's attention, however, was taken up by the woman from the Garrison who was still unable to escape from under the body of the Titan that he had killed.

"Give me a hand, will you?" he asked Langston. "If the Titan starts to decompose while she's still under it, she'll suffer some serious burns."

"Right."

The two of them rushed to the aid of their fellow soldier. Langston used his blades to hack out part of the Titan's body and free her arms, as Nap was unable to do so thanks to his lack of blades. Nap could hear Langston's labored breathing, and if it weren't for the noise of the battle, he probably would have been able to hear the sound of the boy's racing heart as adrenaline pumped through his body, staving off his fear for the time being.

They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind them, still clearly audible even among all of the sounds of battle.

Nap looked up at the face of a fifteen-meter class Titan with a wide-open mouth. Its hand was already extended toward them. There was no way that Langston would be able to free the woman in time for all three of them to escape.

He didn't have time to think. Nap stepped between the Titan and his friend, stretching out his arms to the sides just as he had done when the trio of Titans had approached Mikasa outside of the HQ building. Maybe, just maybe…

The Titan pulled back its arm, continuing on toward the gate without so much as acknowledging them, just as Nap heard the emphatic sound of Eren slamming the boulder into place.

Humanity had beaten the Titans.

"Nap..." Langston said, astonished. "Just what the hell are you?"

_Marco, Year 850_

Hearing the sound of the boulder, Marco rushed toward the noise, turning the corner as he ran through the streets of Trost.

He stopped in his tracks, jaw nearly dropping off his face from the sight that he found.

"Annie…" Marco had a hard time finding words for what he was seeing. "What happened here?"

Annie stood over the dead body of Nack Tius, his chest covered in the same blood that stained her blades. His Maneuver Gear had been stripped, and now lay at Annie's feet. She looked up at Marco, genuine remorse filling her eyes.

"Marco, I'm sorry you had to see this."


	9. Aftermath Pt 1: Reason to Live

_Nap and Commander Pixis, Year 845_

"Is that so?" Nap's grandfather asked. "You're really set on it, then?"

"I am", replied the eleven year old boy. "I know what I have to do, and I know that you can help me do it."

"You're very feisty for such a little kid." Dot Pixis chuckled, as his grandson was almost his equal in height.

"Is that a yes?"

"It's not a no. Tell me, Nap, what is it that you hope to accomplish by joining the Survey Corps?"

"That's easy. I'm going to be the one to save humanity from the Titans. It's my destiny."

"You know, this wasn't exactly what I had planned when I sent you and Irene to live in the Inner District." The old man shook his head before glancing down at the Titans below him. He still could not find a single attractive one out of the seemingly infinite number of beasts. "Tell me, is your mother still as good of a cook as she used to be?"

"I wasn't aware you two knew each other that well." It had only been a few days since Nap had left the interior. The world that had been created by the attack on Wall Maria was still new to him, but he was adjusting to it with the help of Anka, Gustav, and his grandfather. And her.

"Now that I think about it, we really never did. Stan was always secretive about his little crush."

"Can you tell me anything about him?" Dot Pixis was surprised at the legitimate curiosity that the boy was showing. "Something that only you would know?"

"You claim you want to be a hero. To save humanity from the Titans." The Commander nodded slowly. "Stan was the exact same way. You're just as foolish as he was."

_Annie, Year 850_

It was necessary. She'd had no choice but to do it. He had seen too much. If she had let him live, she would have been captured. Killed eventually, in all likelihood.

It was the only move that she could have made, so why was she feeling so guilty?

207 soldiers had been killed, and roughly 900 had been injured during the reclamation of Trost. Marco was just another body added to that count. Just like the bodies that she was seeing now, lining the streets of the city that had repelled the Titan invasion.

Annie looked down at her feet. Directly in front of her was the body of a trainee just like her. The girl's head had been bitten off directly above the chin. Her life had ended instantly. She hadn't faded away like Marco, with that haunting look in his eyes.

She read the name on the girl's uniform. Ruth D. Klein. If Annie remembered correctly, this girl had been in Miranda's squad during the mission to retake HQ. She was one of many casualties of that plan.

Annie had lived and trained with Ruth D. Klein for three years, yet never once had the two of them spoken to each other.

"I'm sorry." Her eyes felt wider than ever before. She had to force back the tears that had grown ever too unfamiliar to her.

"I'm sorry."

_Nap and Langston, Year 850_

"Are you going to tell me what happened back there?"

Finally finding a spot away from the other soldiers, Langston was able to ask the question he had been holding in since the end of the battle.

"It was exactly what it looked like", replied Nap. "The Titans… They don't notice me."

"That's crazy!" said the boy with the shaved head, who still looked uncannily like a young version of their old instructor, Keith Shadis. "Titans inherently go after humans, right? That's all that they know how to do. So does this mean… You're not human?"

Nap paused at the question. His hands itched under the gloves that covered them, but the risk of infection from the plethora of dead bodies was too great to chance taking them off. The Titans that were left in the city had all been killed by cannons and by the Survey Corps, but they had succeeded in turning Trost into an absolute nightmare for the people who remained alive.

"After all of this… Are any of us really human?"

Langston noticed a dismembered leg sitting at the foot of a house, surrounded by blood.

"Listen…" He knew that Nap was thinking about the same thing that he was. "If you want to talk about what happened to Mina-"

"Excuse me", came a voice from the rear. Startled, Nap and Langston both turned their heads to see a woman from the Garrison, the same one whom they had saved during the battle. The last remaining member of Rico's squad, outside of its leader, the woman was short with light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore the same clean-up attire that they did.

"Your name is Pixis, correct? The grandson of Commander Pixis?"

"That's me. Nap Pixis."

The woman saluted him, her eyes bold and fiery as her right hand covered her heart. She looked only a few years older than Nap, but the difference was in her seasoning as a fighter. This was a soldier who had seen things that Nap and his fellow trainees hadn't, things that many of them never would, even after the battle that they had just taken part in. She was a soldier who had nothing left to lose, save for her own life.

"Thank you, Nap Pixis", she said in a voice that carried every bit of conviction that her eyes held. "I am forever in your debt."

"I'm just a soldier like you", Nap responded. "My duty is to save as many lives as possible. There's no need to thank me."

That was not truly how Nap felt, but he had learned how to lie from the best of them.

"It was not just my life that you saved." She raised her head, looking straight at him with her dark gray eyes. "When that Titan seized me during the battle, I had given up. All I could do was scream. I had lost hope. And I had lost the strength to go on."

"If you're looking for a reason to live", Nap said slowly through the mask that covered his nose and mouth, "You're not going to find one here. No, you need to find that within yourself."

"I believe I already have." The woman nodded. "I will live so that I may repay my debt to you, Nap Pixis."

With that, she saluted once more, before beginning to walk away.

"Hang on", Nap called after she had taken a few steps. "You never told me your name."

"You're right. My apologies."

She turned around once more, again meeting his gaze with her deep, dark eyes. They reminded him more and more of another pair of eyes that he knew.

"My name is Katya Drake."

With that, she once again wheeled around, and was gone as suddenly as she had appeared.

"She could have at least thanked me too", Langston complained. "You're not the only one who saved her life, after all."

"If you're going to use that logic, remember that I saved her life twice, as well as yours."

Langston shrugged, defeated, as the two of them returned to their work. In some ways, the cleanup after the battle was even more detestable than the actual fighting. The two boys were at least lucky enough to have each other to help them through it.

"Langston", Nap said quietly and without looking, "Do you still stand by what you said before?"

Langston paused for a while, biting his lip.

"I do. I made up my mind a long time ago, and that battle… It only confirmed it."

"I see. Even though I don't agree with it, I'll respect your decision."

Langston laughed for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Though he was still shy around strangers, he had grown comfortable enough with Nap to the point where the two of them could truly be themselves around each other. Langston was nothing close to the same frightened boy from three years ago, at least not around other humans.

"You know, it's too bad that not everyone can be a lunatic with a savior complex like you, Nap."

"You're bringing that up now? I thought I did a good job of hiding it."

_Commander Pixis and Commander Erwin, Year 850_

"Commander Pixis", began the leader of the Survey Corps as he kept pace with the wily old Commander of the Garrison, "Do you really think our peers will find it appropriate that the two of us are meeting in a place like this?"

"You're as straight-laced as they all say", replied Dot Pixis. The two continued walking along the top of Wall Rose, as the Garrison's head man had done for much of the last few years. "Don't worry. If anyone asks, I simply bumped into you on my morning walk."

Erwin Smith lowered his head, acknowledging the older man's thoughts even though he could not see his face.

"So, now that we've bumped into each other, let me ask you something", continued Pixis. "You're aware that the Military Police wants custody of Eren Jaeger, are you not?"

"I was informed of that recently", the Commander of the Survey Corps answered immediately. "However, that was not what I intended to talk to you about."

"So it would seem." Dot Pixis came to a halt, as did Erwin Smith. "I can only imagine what your true intention must be."

"Commander Pixis." The bald-headed man faced the younger Commander, gazing upon him with raised eyebrows. "While the whole world knows of Eren Jaeger's Titan powers, there are few within these walls who have heard of the other major player to emerge from the mission to retake the Trost District."

"You're referring to my grandson?" Pixis twirled his mustache in amusement.

"That's correct. I'd like to request that you keep his abilities private for the time being. If the public becomes aware that he is somehow ignored by the Titans, we could encounter a situation similar to the one surrounding Eren Jaeger. Obviously, it would be best to avoid that."

"I see your point. So, what do you propose we do with him in the meantime?"

"I'd like to request that he be taken in by the Survey Corps. If what I've heard about him is correct, he intended to join my forces from the start."

"You're right about that. That boy certainly is a fool."

"Do you have an answer for me, then?"

"My grandson is old enough to make up his own mind, isn't he? If you want him to join your ranks, you'll have to ask him yourself. Now, let's talk about Eren Jaeger."

_Nap and Anka, Year 850_

"That can't be true, can it?" Nap asked in less calm of a voice than Anka had expected. "Is Eren really going to be court martialed?"

"Those words come straight from your grandfather himself", answered the young, chestnut-haired woman.

"What good is a military tribunal going to do?" Nap's brow furrowed, his teeth aching as a frown crossed his face. "Eren's proved his worth twice already. Didn't Commander Pixis vouch for him? That should mean something, right?"

"I asked him that." Anka shook her head grimly. "There's far too much disagreement among members of the Garrison for the Commander to take such a position. All we can do is hope that the Survey Corps makes a better case to keep him alive than the Military Police does to kill him."

"Speaking of the Survey Corps…"

The voice came from right behind them, startling both Nap and Anka. The two of them whirled around, coming within a few centimeters of a glasses-clad face that wore a grin worthy of a Titan.

"Sorry for sneaking up on you like that." The owner of the voice appeared to be slightly more female than male, with her brown hair tied back messily behind her head. To her right stood four other soldiers, all of whom wore the same mark on their uniforms as their leader wore on hers.

They bore the emblem of the Survey Corps, the Wings of Freedom.

"You really enjoy creeping people out, don't you, Hange?"

Nap was surprised that Anka knew their new acquaintance by name. The eerie woman threw her head back in a disturbing but oddly innocent laugh. Based on first impressions alone, Nap felt like he was once again talking to Miranda Sieyes.

"Yes, I suppose I do. Now, if you don't mind…"

The woman called Hange lunged forward, clasping both of her hands around Nap's left one and staring into his eyes as if they were pieces of meat and she was Sasha Blouse.

"I can't wait to study you."

Nap drew back, understandably disturbed, as one of the other members of the Survey Corps attempted to restrain Hange.

Once she had come back down from her high, she fixed her glasses, holding out a hand in a much more peaceful gesture.

"My name is Hange Zoe, leader of the Survey Corps' Fourth Squad. This is Moblit, my second-in-command, as well as Keiji, Nifa, and Goggles."

Nap blinked twice, looking the five soldiers over from left to right.

"Goggles?"

"That's not his real name, of course", Hange explained. "We just call him that because… Well, that's not something you need to know at this point."

The man with the goggles, who was apparently perfectly fine with being identified based on his eyewear, nodded his head.

"Is there some business you have here?" Nap couldn't blame Anka for her lack of patience considering that she had to deal with his grandfather day in and day out. "Nap and I were in the middle of-"

"Business?" Hange again leaned in toward Nap, far too close for his comfort. Her breath felt hotter than the flesh of a Titan as she appeared to be on the verge of salivating. "Only the business of science, of course! I'm going to have so much fun dissecting you. And then, if all goes well, I'll move on to that Eren boy…"

"Look, I don't know what kind of agenda you're trying to-"

"Wait, Anka." Nap put out a hand to stop the woman he respected as much as anyone. "Hange, you said 'If all goes well'. Are you referring to Eren's trial?"

"That's right." Hange shook her head in clear disappointment. Nap felt that she might have been even scarier when she was serious than she was when she was foaming at the mouth. "Eren's going to be tried in front of Commander-in-Chief Zackly in two days. I'm afraid that there's not a whole lot we can do except hope Commander Erwin makes a good enough case for him."

"I was saying the same thing", agreed Anka, having apparently gotten over her initial annoyance.

"So, we've covered Eren's predicament", said Nap, "But what do you want with me? I assume you've heard about my ability, but if that's the case-"

"That certainly is the case." Hange Zoe apparently lacked the ability to allow him to finish a sentence. "You may not be as interesting of a specimen as Eren Jaeger, but you'll be good enough for now. I'm going to run experiments on you until you wish you'd never met me."

"Squad Leader Hange." The light brown-haired man named Moblit spoke up. "Maybe you should let him digest all of this first."

"No, it's fine", Nap assured him. "I'll do everything that's asked of me, if you're sure that it will end up benefitting humanity."

The typical wide grin appeared once more on Hange's face.

"It's settled, then. Now, if you don't mind, Officer Rheinberger…"

Anka sighed, but she wasn't in a position to protest.

"Sure, take him."

Hange simultaneously jumped for joy and wrapped an arm around Nap's neck. He gagged a bit from her scent, but held himself together better than he had during the invasion of Trost.

"Now then, let's get right to it, shall we?" Hange returned to the front of her squad, with Moblit, Keiji, Nifa and the man known only as Goggles falling into line.

"I've got some friends I'd like you to meet."

_Commander Pixis, Year 850_

Dot Pixis had remained at the top of Wall Rose even after Erwin had departed. Gustav was alone by his side, as Anka had been sent to meet with Nap. The old Commander took a sip from his ever-present flask and stared over the edge of the wall as a third figure appeared beside the two men.

"Commander Pixis, sir."

He slowly brought his head up as Katya Drake saluted him.

"Katya, you don't have to address me so formally, you know."

"I apologize." She bowed her head, apparently unable to deviate from her excessive politeness.

"That's fine", the Commander assured her. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

Katya got to the point immediately.

"I believe that I deserve a promotion", she said slowly but boldly, "With the noble deaths of Squad Leaders Dietrich and Jarnach, there are rather large shoes to fill in the Garrison. I know that I am capable of doing so."

Both men were surprised to hear this, though Pixis was more amused.

"You are aware that this could be viewed as insubordination, aren't you?" asked Gustav.

"I am indeed", Katya confirmed. "Of course, it will only be possible with your authority, Commander Pixis."

Dot Pixis stashed his flask inside of his jacket and analyzed the young woman in front of him. He wouldn't have minded being eaten by a Titan that looked like her.

"Gustav", the Commander said after several long seconds, "You and Anka were in the same trainee class as Katya, weren't you?"

"That's correct", answered Gustav.

"There's at least one thing that I remember correctly, then", joked Pixis. "Now, Gustav, can you tell me the positions at which the three of you graduated?"

"Neither Anka nor I ranked among the top ten, as you know. Katya managed to finish second."

"Impressive", remarked Pixis simply. "Why, then, did you choose to join the Garrison? You could have joined the Survey Corps and become one of their top soldiers, or claimed your spot in the interior with the Military Police. Our regiment has typically been viewed as the place where the leftovers go. Those who aren't deemed good enough for the Military Police but aren't dumb enough to join the Survey Corps. What persuaded you to join our branch?"

"I possessed no desire to contribute to the corruption that exists in the Military Police. I also chose not to sacrifice my life for nothing in the Survey Corps. That left the Garrison as the obvious choice. This is where I have made my contributions to humanity's struggle, and I know that I can be of greater assistance at a higher position." Katya firmly stood her ground. "I also have a debt that I must repay", she added shortly thereafter.

"I understand your point of view." A grin appeared beneath the Commander's mustache. He reached out and put an arm on Katya's shoulder.

"You have my support, Katya Drake. Good luck."

_Nap and Hange, Year 850_

"Nap, I'd like you to meet Sawney and Bean."

Hange spread her arms wide as she introduced him to the pair of Titans that had been captured during the reclamation of Trost. Sawney, on the left, was a six-meter class Titan with long black hair. The one called Bean was a four-meter class with dark gray hair and a beard rivaling that of the Titan that had nearly eaten Armin. Both of them had mouths that hung open in the moronic grin that was typical of their kind.

"Be careful around Sawney." Nap was speechless, but Hange clearly had no such problems. "He's a real feisty one, but Bean's a total sweetheart. Of course, given what you've been able to do so far, I'm not sure you'll even have to worry."

Nap gradually approached the Titan called Sawney, as Hange had instructed him to do on the way. Moblit stood a short distance from the eccentric Squad Leader, probably deathly afraid of what she might do next.

There was no reaction from Sawney even as Nap drew closer to him. The Titan's eyes remained fixed on some point over the boy's head, and his arms and body never even tensed in anticipation of a meal. With all of his stored determination, Nap reached out and touched the Titan on the chin, feeling the skin of one of the monsters that had pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.

Still nothing.

"That's incredible!" yelled Hange from behind his back. "If you were anyone else, Sawney would have bitten your head off by now!"

Nap looked up into the dark blue eyes of the six-meter class Titan. They were still trained on the other humans behind him, and didn't so much as glance at him even as his hand brushed over the Titan's body.

He turned his attention to the bearded Titan called Bean. He took step after cautious step toward the four-meter class Titan, with the same results. Hange could barely hold back her excitement as Nap waved his hand in front of Bean's wide black eyes, again to no avail.

_Miranda, Year 850_

"I really shouldn't do it", Miranda said to herself, as she often did when no one was around to listen. "Yeah, I shouldn't do it again. Ever."

She gave her head a good shake, ruffling the bangs that were as brown as the wooden bench on which she sat.

"I can't believe I'm even thinking about it at this point. There are still so many things about this world that I don't understand."

"What do you mean?"

Miranda had been too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice Christa's approach. The young blonde girl looked and acted more like an angel than a soldier, but Miranda had been impressed with her abilities during their first battle.

"It's nothing, really." Miranda smiled widely, as she often did when someone else was around to see. "You know me. I'm always thinking to myself about something or another."

"Oh, I see." Christa sat down on the bench next to her. Most of the surviving soldiers were getting ready for dinner, but Miranda had wandered off as if she had mistook the meal for a training exercise that she needed to skip.

"I just thought it was funny. The way you worded it, I mean", Christa continued. "You said there were things you didn't know about 'this' world, as if there was some other world you knew."

"Wouldn't that be something?" Miranda threw back her head and giggled. "Christa, you're too kind for your own good. No wonder Ymir likes you so much."

"Miranda… Why are you here?" Christa's eyes stared out in front of her, the compassion that usually filled them almost completely absent.

"That's a silly question", Miranda replied. "Why are any of us here?"

"You didn't answer me."

"That's because I don't need to. Just like you don't need to know why I chose this life."

Christa looked up at her, and finally the shortest and tallest girls in the 104th Trainee Corps shared a moment of clarity.

"You're not really the person you pretend to be. Right, Miranda?"

Her grin changed from sheepish to sly in an instant. She prepared to stand up, but not before returning Christa's question with one of her own.

"All of us have something to hide. That's just who we humans are. Right, Historia?"

She turned to leave, but Christa shot up from her seat and grabbed the taller girl's arm. Miranda didn't need to turn around to see the ghastly look in her eyes.

"How do you know that name?"

"Don't worry about it." Miranda tried once again to leave, only to be greeted by an even tighter grip from Christa.

"I'm going to ask one more time. How do you know that name?"

"You don't need to know that right now." Miranda tilted her head so that she could look back at Christa. This time, her smile was a knowing one. "Just know that I'm on your side, okay?"

_Nap and Hange, Year 850_

"Nap, I want you to come stand directly in front of me, like we talked about."

Hange had begun their second day together by placing herself firmly in Sawney's line of vision, and the black-haired Titan was coming awfully close to snaring her in his jaws. It would be difficult for someone to stand in front of her without an even greater risk, but after what had happened at the end of the last battle, Nap had convinced Hange to allow him to try.

He already knew that the Titans paid no attention to him. However, he had also been able to somehow shield Langston and Katya from the wide-mouthed Titan by using the same power. He only questioned whether or not it was a fluke. There was also another matter that may have been even more important. Nap was still searching for an explanation of his behavior when he had been confronted by the Titan with Mina's face.

Nap walked straight toward the snapping teeth of Sawney as they tried but failed to reach the Squad Leader. Timing his move carefully, he stepped in front of her and spread his arms apart just before the Titan began to make another attempt at her life.

As soon as Nap stepped in to defend her, Sawney's eyes fell and his mouth closed slowly. He drew back his head and once again stared out above Nap's head at the other humans.

"This is just too amazing!" Hange yelled, twirling about and almost losing her balance entirely before Moblit was forced to catch her.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you make of it, Squad Leader?" Nap was truly curious as to what someone experienced like Hange thought of his abilities.

"That's hard to say", Hange responded. "There's no explanation that really makes sense to me. Throughout history, there's never been any documented evidence of regular Titans ignoring humans, and even aberrants have always had the end goal of pursuing large groups of humans. That's simply what they're wired to do. Of course, they'll always ignore other living things, like birds, or deer, or…"

Hange froze, all except for her face, as an idea exploded inside of her head.

"Nap", she said unusually softly while walking toward him, "I want you to take off your pants."

"Wait, what?"

She grabbed his shoulders, bringing his face down to hers.

"Take off your pants!"

The soldiers all around them all looked extremely puzzled, but none more so than Nap.

"Hang on, what are you trying to-"

"Nap, do I really have to repeat myself again? I need you to take off your pants."

Hange was at her scariest when she was angry. Nap really didn't want to see her go over the top, but he still had no idea why she was asking this of him.

"Squad Leader Hange, I-"

"Moblit!" she called out to her second-in-command. "Hold back his arms!"

"What do you-"

Reluctantly but unquestioningly, Moblit seized Nap from behind, ensnaring him in a trap from which he could not break free. Nap struggled against the grip of Moblit, but the man would not let him go. With her prey held captive, Hange was now able to have exactly what she wanted.

"Now then…"

Hange pulled off his belt, unfastened his pants, and forcefully reached her arm down Nap's undergarments. He continued to squirm fruitlessly against Moblit's iron grip.

It was only a few seconds after Hange's arm had disappeared into his nethers that she pulled it back out, her eyes wide with shock but her mouth twisted into a chaotic grin.

"Nap", she whispered amid a flurry of giggles, "There's nothing there."

"See? I tried to tell you that you were crazy!"

"No, that's not what I mean." Hange threw her head back and laughed maniacally.

"I mean to say, there's truly nothing there. It's completely flat and smooth. Like a Titan."

"But that's not possible", Nap said with a shaking voice as Moblit released his arms.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Hange asked, daring him to prove her right. He took her bait, reaching his own hand into his private region until he could feel what was down there.

His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. She was absolutely right.

"No… No… What does this mean? Hange, what do you-"

"You can save your breath, Nap." She shook her head. "I'm just as clueless as you are. But if nothing else, this is certainly a fine basis for experimentation. It could also be the very reason why the Titans are ignoring you."

Nap's normally clear mind was now a swirling tempest of panic. There was no way that this could be true. He knew that he hadn't been completely flat down there before. He may not have been a normal person, but despite his elite skill level he had still had the same bodily structure as everyone else. But he and Hange had both felt it. There was no denying that.

"Stay calm, Nap", Hange said. His breathing had practically ceased. He stumbled around before falling to his knees, staring up into the oblivious face of Bean. Was Nap really a Titan like him?

He brought his hands to his mouth. Despite most of them looking relatively humanoid, Titans had significantly more teeth than humans. Along with the obvious differences in size and the lack of reproductive organs, that was one of the major differences in appearance between Titans and humans. Nap had this thought in mind as he felt along the edges of his mouth, running both of his hands back and forth.

He felt not the normal set of teeth that he had possessed for most of his life, but instead an excessive amount of small, rectangular teeth.

Just like a Titan.

"Nap, I need you to stay with me." He felt Hange's hand on his shoulder, and looked up into her glasses-clad face. "I have no idea why your body is doing this, but I think I may know what's triggering it. Now, come with me, will you?"

Nap nodded, gathering himself and fastening his belt once again. He followed Hange and Moblit out of the enclosure and away from Sawney and Bean, as the two Titans silently laughed behind their backs.

When the three of them had walked a considerable distance, Hange once again turned to Nap.

"Now, listen to me", she began. "I want you to feel your teeth again."

Without questioning her, Nap opened his mouth and felt the inside of it with both of his hands. He wasn't sure how to feel when he noticed that his teeth were normal again.

"They're fine", he said in a voice that was nearly a whisper. "But how is that-"

"We're not done", Hange interrupted. "Now I want you to reach down your pants again. Tell me how it feels this time."

Nap did so, this time without caring that there were other people around.

"It's normal. It's completely normal."

"So, I was right." Hange gave him a knowing smile before patting him on the back and pumping her fist in the air.

"Right about what?" asked Nap. "You said you thought you knew what triggered it, right?"

"That's exactly it." Hange pulled up her glasses that were held in place by straps around the back of her head. She rubbed her eyes as she spoke.

"I believe that the mere presence of the Titans somehow causes your body to transform. The only reason you didn't notice it during the battle was because you were in such a high-pressure situation. They don't sense you because the composition of your body becomes just like theirs."

Nap wasn't sure how to feel.

"Of course, none of this explains what in your body actually caused the transformations to take place", Hange continued, strapping her eyewear back into place. "Meaning, we don't know why your body is like that. It may be something similar to what makes Eren Jaeger transform into a Titan, but there are several important differences. First, and most obvious, Eren is able to drastically change his body and become a fifteen-meter class Titan. On the other hand, your physical appearance remains more or less the same, and you merely take on the traits of a Titan while still appearing human on the surface. There's also the fact that Eren's Titan transformations seem to be entirely voluntary, while yours happen instantly just by being near a Titan. Finally, there's the fact that other Titans are drawn to Eren and still see him as a human, yet ignore you because they believe you to be a Titan like them. It's really rather fascinating, but I'm not sure how to go about studying it."

"I think we should let him rest for now, Squad Leader." Moblit had seen the condition that Nap had been in during the last experiment. There was something that changed in Nap mentally as well as physically when he was near the Titans, and they had all become aware of it, though it was still unclear exactly what it was.

"You're right, Moblit", Hange admitted disappointedly. "Eren's trial is tomorrow, and we've all got to be rested for that."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you", said Nap, and he truly was.

"Don't beat yourself up over it", Hange said reassuringly. "Besides, we uncovered a few crazy things today. It's going to take us both time to digest it all. Once we've got Eren, you two will be back out there in a flash."

"Thank you, Squad Leader Hange."

"One more thing", she added, leaning in close to whisper into his ear.

"You might want to pull your pants back up."


	10. Aftermath Pt 2: The Crimson Arrow

_Nap and Annie, Year 846_

Annie had a habit of talking in her sleep. It wasn't a constant or even a frequent occurrence, but it happened with at least a small amount of regularity. Nap had never really gotten used to it, though, and it still startled him a bit whenever she uttered a small sentence fragment while passed out, as she did while lying next to him on the hillside that they had chosen for that day.

"I hate to say this…"

"I think it's cold outside…"

"That's up to you…"

Nap heard these words and several repetitions of her typical "whoosh" as Annie lay next to him with her light blonde hair a frizzy mess. He wasn't sure what she would think of him watching her sleep, but at that point he couldn't have stopped himself if he had tried. He felt the tall grass behind his ears swaying in the slight breeze. No matter how gassed he was after a day of training with Anka and Gustav, he never failed to have difficulty falling asleep. Night was still several hours away, but Annie had experienced no such trouble.

He hoisted himself up, hugging in his slender legs despite the aching pains in his joints. The air in these parts was one of the more subtle differences when compared to the interior of Wall Sina. It was also one of the things that Nap appreciated most about the land closer to Wall Rose. He sat with his knees pinned to his chest, closing his eyes for what felt like forever and breathing in the air that tasted of freedom.

"Why are you crying?"

This was not one of Annie's innocuous mumbles. Nap's head rotated 90 degrees, and he saw her cold blue eyes staring into his golden ones. He hadn't even realized that tears were flowing from them.

"Sorry", he said simply, wiping his face with the sleeve of his scarlet shirt.

"You don't have to apologize", she replied. "Just don't act so weak. It doesn't suit you."

If he hadn't known Annie as well as he did, he might have found her comment to be rude. They were very similar in that regard. Things had changed, however, as had the two of them. Nap and Annie had both helped keep each other strong.

"You're right. It won't happen again."

"You never answered me", Annie continued softly. "Why were you crying?"

"It's stupid, really", he answered. "I was just thinking about my sister."

"Your sister?" Annie's eyes drilled a hole in his own.

"My younger sister. I don't remember much about her", Nap admitted. "To be honest, I'm surprised that I still think about her."

"I thought your father died before you were born."

"Yeah, that's right. I guess she's my half-sister, if that matters. All I really know are the rumors, but apparently my mother was involved with another man soon after I was born. Some wacko from the wall cult, or so I'm told."

Nap had grown to feel like he could tell Annie anything, even things that he had never mentioned to his grandfather or Anka.

"What was her name?"

Nap laughed at the question. That was a reaction that he wouldn't have shown to anyone other than Annie.

"I don't even remember that much. I was so young that it's all just a blur."

"Are you being honest with me?"

"Of course I am. You know I'd never lie to you, Annie."

_Commander Erwin and Captain Levi, Year 850_

"You know that I'm not normally one to question you, Erwin. However, placing two rookies in my squad during a mission like this isn't something that I can readily endorse."

"I've worked through all possible angles, Levi", replied the Commander. "These two are going to be absolutely vital to the mission. If I'm correct, the only sensible place for the pair of them to be is under your supervision."

Captain Levi took a sip of his unsweetened tea. The two of them had met in a cafe near the courthouse at his request, instead of Erwin's personal quarters. For reasons Levi could not fathom, his superior had passed up on the opportunity to order a beverage.

"I understand why Eren Jaeger is important to us", Levi said, placing his cup carefully on the table in front of him. "I just don't know why we're playing to bloodlines and including this other kid who says that the Titans don't see him. You honestly believe that something like that will be relevant to this expedition?"

"I can assure you that this isn't a case of nepotism. Napoleon Pixis graduated at the top of his class, and I've been told that he showed great aptitude in Trost. I believe that it's not a stretch to say that his skills are on par with those of the members of your squad."

"That's mighty high praise, coming from you. Not to be taken lightly." Levi took another sip.

"Give the boy a chance. I'm sure you'll recognize his talent."

"I guess I don't have much of a choice here, then. If it's what you want, I'll take him in. As long as he can clean better than Auruo, that is."

_Nap, Year 850_

"You've heard about the kid who can transform into a Titan, right?" asked one of the Military Police members passing by the mess hall.

"Who hasn't?" His partner noisily answered his question with another question. "I heard he's getting tried in front of Old Man Zackly later today."

"Yeah, apparently Commander Dock wants to get his hands on the little brat." The man paused and shook his head in pity. "I kind of feel bad for the poor bastard, but that's life."

"Hey, I'm just glad it's him and not me." The two of them laughed loudly in agreement.

"Sorry to bother you two…"

The men turned at the sound of the voice, and were greeted by a lanky teenage boy wearing a trainee jacket. His shaggy black hair was greased back with sweat and looked like it hadn't been washed in days, and the bags under his eyes and insubstantial fur sprouting from his face supported that hypothesis. He still wore his Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear, and his worn-out jacket was slightly stained by blood and dirt that he had not bothered to wash off. He was becoming more and more like Hange by the second.

"I'm from the 104th Trainee Corps", said Nap Pixis. "Do you know where I can find the rest of my squad?"

"You look terrible, kid", observed one of the men. "You do know the battle's over, right?"

"I don't want or need to hear that from you." Nap's golden eyes gazed lazily upon the two officers. "I just asked where the rest of the trainees are."

"This kid's got some nerve, don't you think?" asked one of the men to the other. Both of them carried Military Police-issue rifles that were slung over their backs. "He's talking to us like he's our Commander or something. I don't like it, not one bit."

"I told you already." Nap was steadily growing bored. "I only want to find the rest of the trainees. You imbeciles can screw around all you want once I'm gone."

"Imbeciles?" Nap had quickly realized that both of the men were at least mildly intoxicated. "That's a big word for such a little rat. You've got no respect for authority."

"Yeah, there's nothing I hate more than a runt who doesn't know his place." The men grinned obnoxiously at each other before unloading their rifles from their backs.

"You want to mess with us now, punk?"

"I was honestly hoping it wouldn't come to this." Nap spat on the ground at his feet as he calmly drew his twin blades and faced the drunken men once more. "I just asked one simple question."

Before either of the officers could respond, Nap took off toward them, slicing through the wooden bodies of their guns as if they were made of paper. The terrified men dropped their now-dysfunctional rifles in shock and stumbled backward, their eyes wide with fear as the boy they had just been taunting advanced upon them, blades still drawn and eyes void of emotion.

"You're crazy! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I really don't have any more time to waste here. Now, just tell me, please. Where can I find the rest of the trainees?" Nap brought his blades up toward the necks of the cowering men. "Or would you like me to show you how I tear through flesh?"

"The trainees are eating lunch in there right now", came the panicked reply from one of the men, a shaking finger pointing to the mess hall over Nap's shoulder.

"He's telling the truth! I swear!" added the other.

Nap returned his blades to their resting places and ran his fingers through his filthy hair. Working with Hange had made him understand why Moblit was such a heavy drinker. He could only imagine how Anka and Gustav were able to deal with his grandfather on a daily basis. It had been just two days, but Nap was already a cranky shell of his normal self.

"Thanks, both of you", was all he said before wandering off and into the building.

Most of the faces inside of the mess hall were familiar ones to Nap. The surviving members of his trainee group ate in relative silence. Looking down from the top of the stairs at the entrance, Nap could easily distinguish the back of his target's head.

After descending the stairs, Nap unceremoniously took a seat next to the girl with the red scarf, startling both her and the boy sitting across from her.

"Nap!" yelped the surprised Armin Arlert, nearly falling from his seat. He and Mikasa had clearly been deep in conversation before Nap swooped in.

"I have a question for both of you."

Armin and Mikasa looked at him with wide eyes as he crossed his arms on the table. The twin suns in his sockets glared at the dull wood in front of him.

"Did you know about Eren's Titan powers? I mean, before all of this went down."

"What kind of question is that?" Mikasa responded just as he had expected.

"I'm not trying to insinuate anything", Nap clarified. "I just want to know."

"Neither of us knew anything", Armin said with a shake of his head.

"If we had known, don't you think we would have said something beforehand?" Mikasa added in a slightly accusatory tone.

"Yeah, I guess so", Nap resigned himself to say. "It's really too bad. If we had known about it earlier… Maybe our friends wouldn't have had to die."

"I don't think you're right about that", said Armin after a few moments of silence.

"What do you mean?" Nap asked with genuine curiosity in his tired voice.

"Just think about how many people lost their lives in Trost so that Eren could plug up the hole", Armin continued. "Ian, Mitabi, and plenty of other soldiers from the Garrison were killed even after Eren transformed into a Titan. So, while he may be able to change the tide of the battle against the Titans, I just don't think you're looking at it realistically. People are still going to die, no matter what Eren is able to do. No matter what any of us are able to do."

Nap allowed himself to smile a bit on the inside. Armin was right, after all. Death was the inevitable result of life. All of the soldiers who had died in Trost had known that going in.

"What about you, Mikasa?" he asked. "Do you still plan on throwing away your life for Eren if you deem it to be necessary?"

"You already know the answer to that", she replied calmly.

"Yeah, I suppose so." He brushed some of the sweat from his damp forehead. He must have looked downright grungy to someone on the outside looking in. "It's a shame, really. You'd be much more of a help to us all if you were to stay alive. To all of humanity, I mean."

"You don't sound like yourself at all. You know as well as I do that there are some things you need to guard with your life. I'll do what I need to do in order to protect him."

"That's just sad." The two of them still had not made eye contact despite sitting directly next to each other. "You know, Mikasa, you're strong. Really strong. In every possible way. But so is Eren. He's strong enough to take care of himself. And as for me… If it came down to a choice between Annie and the rest of the world, I have no doubt as to what my decision would be."

"That doesn't matter to me." Mikasa's hand was shaking visibly.

"I'm just saying." Nap himself wasn't sure why he was trying so hard to antagonize her. "Maybe you should find a purpose in your life outside of being Eren's guard dog."

Mikasa stood up just as the mess hall's front door swung open. The trainees all turned to stare as three men wearing Military Police uniforms entered the expansive room.

"We're looking for a couple of trainees", began the bearded man at the front. "Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. Are you present?"

"We're here", answered Mikasa as Armin rose to stand next to her.

"You've been ordered to appear as witnesses in this afternoon's hearing", said the man in an obnoxiously loud voice.

A few moments later, Armin and Mikasa followed the men out the door without saying a word to Nap.

His head fell to the table in front of him. Nap's energy had been almost completely drained by Hange's experiments combined with his lack of sleep. He couldn't even imagine himself staying awake during Eren's trial after the Squad Leader inevitably came to retrieve him.

"Hey there, Nap, old buddy!"

He was snapped out of his daze by Miranda's voice coupled with her arm around his neck. He slightly turned his worn-out eyes onto her widely grinning face, wanting nothing more than to plunge his fist into it.

"Miranda…"

"It's been a few days since we've seen each other. I was starting to get worried. You know, we should really talk more."

This was coming from a girl he had barely talked to during their three years together.

"What is it that we need to speak about?"

Nap gradually raised his head to stare blankly at Miranda. He hadn't noticed them when he walked in, but Jean and Connie were seated at a table directly adjacent to the one where he was positioned. Miranda had likely been sitting with them while he had been talking to Armin and Mikasa.

"You put on one hell of a show out there during the reclamation mission", Miranda said gleefully, bragging as if it was she herself that she was talking about. "We could see you all the way from the wall, slaying Titan after Titan. We even made up a nickname for you."

"A nickname, huh?" Nap wasn't overly interested, but he humored her this once.

"Yep. We're calling you the 'Crimson Arrow'. Do you like it?"

"The Crimson Arrow? It sounds a bit cheesy." He at least felt obligated to give her his honest opinion on something trivial like this.

"I came up with it because of that ridiculous red shirt that you're always wearing. That was how we were able to distinguish you all the way from the other side of the city. Honestly, it's so eye-catching that I'm surprised Shadis never made you take it off."

"What difference does it make?" Nap asked nonchalantly. "The Titans don't care what color shirt I'm wearing. They're attracted to humans regardless."

He said this despite knowing that he wasn't entirely human himself.

"That's fair, I guess. Anyway, I just thought you could use a friend, since your usual crew isn't around. Langston left about half an hour ago, it's anybody's guess where Annie is, and Mina-"

For the first time since Nap had known her, Miranda was able to censor her own thoughts before they emerged from her mouth. Of course, it was already too late.

"That's right", Nap said, after chewing his lip softly. "Mina was in your squad when we went to retake HQ, wasn't she?"

"Nap, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"I don't care about your apologies." Nap was looking straight at her now, his exhausted eyes blazing like the suns that they resembled. "I just want you to answer one question for me."

"What's that?" Miranda's usual demeanor was gone.

"Are you absolutely sure that Mina was killed in battle?"

"What kind of question is that?" Nap's inquiry did its job in startling Miranda, as well as any other trainees who were listening in.

"Just answer the question, Miranda. Are you absolutely sure that she died?"

"Of course I am. The only people who-"

"Miranda." His face was pressed almost directly against hers. "Did you actually see her die?"

She didn't respond immediately. Her brows pressed close together, her eyes filling with concern. Miranda wondered whether or not Nap was truly in his right mind. She was aware that he didn't always play well with others, but she had never seen him act like this.

"No", she finally answered.

"You didn't see her die?" Nap asked once again, as if he needed to clarify.

"I didn't. But that doesn't mean-"

"Where are the other members of your squad?" asked Nap in a sudden fury. "Someone must know what really happened to her! Where's Bertolt? Or Marco?"

The second name set off a trigger in Miranda's face. Looking over her shoulder, Nap could see the same look in Connie's eyes, and a more severe version of it being worn by Jean.

The small bit of energy that was left immediately drained from Nap's bloodshot eyes.

"Don't tell me…"

"We all feel terrible about what happened to Mina." Miranda's attitude had done a complete 180 since the start of their conversation. "But Mina wasn't the only friend that we lost on that day."

"I understand. But please, just tell me-"

"Nap!"

It was her face that was pressing intimidatingly close to his now. He had briefly forgotten just how distraught she had been when she had broken the news to the rest of them back at the HQ, but now it was clear to him. Miranda may have worn the mask of a clown most of the time, but she cared deeply for all of them, and she took the losses of her friends as hard as anyone. Nap had been a fool to think otherwise.

"Nap, it's trial time!"

He spun around in his seat, his focus pulled away by Hange Zoe's tone-deaf wail. She peered down at him with one of her less threatening smiles as he stood up, nodded goodbye to Miranda, and climbed the stairs to greet her.

There would be time for the two of them to get on the same page later. Eren's trial was more important at the moment anyway.

_Langston, Year 850_

"Ava, I just heard! Are you going to be-"

Langston paused upon entering the room and seeing Reiner and Christa already there. They stood at the side of the hospital bed in which a fellow member of the 104th Trainee Corps lay. Ava sat up in bed, her blonde hair draped over her shoulders and her right arm buried in a sling.

"No…"

"I feel perfectly fine, Langston", said the girl in the bed, a little too casually for someone in her shoes. "Don't act like it's the end of the world. I already told these two that it'll heal in no time."

"A broken arm is better than the alternative", Reiner agreed. "I'm just glad we all managed to make it out of that hellhole in one piece."

"Not all of us", Langston corrected him. "Too many of our friends died out there. Maybe if I hadn't been such a coward, they'd still be here with us."

"There's no point in thinking about that now", Ava said, shrugging as best she could with an injury like hers. "We can't change the past, after all."

"You're as cold and heartless as ever, Ava", Reiner teased. The two of them hadn't been especially close during their time as trainees, but after the three years that they had spent together, every single one of the survivors had learned a good deal about each of the others.

Ava Miller was normally rather easy to get along with, and had been one of the more popular girls among the members of the 104th. However, she was also brutally honest, and when times were as bad as they had been lately, she was not one to sugarcoat things.

"She's right, though." Christa spoke up for the first time since Langston had entered the room. "I think we just have to keep moving forward while trying to protect the people that are still alive."

"That actually kind of leads into my question", Langston said, looking around at the three faces in the room. "I want to know what you guys plan on doing now. Where do we go from here?"

There was a long silence punctuated only by the muffled sounds of patients in other rooms. Langston had already looked for Abigail Frauke, who had had a portion of her face destroyed during the mission to retake HQ, but she must have been placed in a different facility because none of the medical staff had heard of her.

"That's entirely up to you", Ava said informally, looking toward the ceiling above her as if searching for answers. "You're the one who's going to have to live with your decision, after all."

Another pause followed Ava's answer, after which she tried to change the subject.

"By the way, I haven't heard anything since the day of the battle, so I have to ask. How's Eren?"

_Nap and Hange, Year 850_

"What do you two think his chances are, honestly?"

Nap and Hange had been joined by another Squad Leader from the Survey Corps, an abnormally tall man with a wispy mustache who referred to himself as Mike Zacharius. Adding to Nap's theory that every member of the Survey Corps was a bit off the rocker, Mike had greeted him by sniffing the boy's face and sneering to himself. Hange had passed this off as normal, though she did point out that Mike spent an unusually long time sniffing in this case.

"It's hard to say." When Mike wasn't smelling or smirking, he wore a somewhat uninviting countenance. "The Military Police and the fat cats from the interior probably won't listen to reason. They're dead-set on taking him out of the picture."

"On the other hand", Hange began to counter, "Commander Erwin knows what he's doing. If anyone's able to convince the Commander-in-Chief that Eren's innocent, it's our leader."

"So I hear." Nap had had a hard time keeping up his mask ever since the previous day's experiment. "I was going to ask about Commander Smith, but I guess I'll see how he operates at the trial. I'll be impressed if he actually manages to win Zackly's favor."

"That reminds me..." Hange's feet stopped, as did Nap's and Mike's shortly after. She looked Nap dead in the eyes, her usual carefree attitude nowhere to be found. He was reminded of his encounter with Miranda that very morning.

"Nap, because the trial may not go as smoothly as you like, you might think about intervening on behalf of Eren." Hange had a face that could have intimidated a Titan. "I'd advise against it."

"That's a good point", said Mike in agreement. "In any case, your words won't hold any more sway than Commander Erwin's. You should put your trust in him."

"I wasn't planning on pulling anything like that", Nap said as the three of them began to walk once more. They were approaching the front of the courthouse. "Even so, if I were to speak out in that manner, I would be doing it only because I trust myself more than I trust the Captain or Commander Smith. More than anyone, really."

No matter how much he wanted it to be, this was not a lie.

_Annie and Bertolt, Year 850_

"Do you ever wonder… If what we're doing is still… The right thing?"

Annie stopped in her tracks. She was slightly annoyed that the first thing Bertolt had said in several minutes was something so brash. If any of the wrong people had been listening in on them, their covers would have almost certainly been blown.

"I try not to think about it in terms of right or wrong", Annie said quietly. "I just remind myself that it's necessary. That's all that matters."

"But if Eren is really the Coordinate like she suggested-"

"That's enough, Bertolt."

He bit his lip.

"You're going through with it, then?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"He wasn't your target to begin with." Bertolt thought about it for a moment. "But it doesn't really affect the plan. I suppose… Either one of you can do it."

"You remember why we need to do this, right?"

"I do. It's because… We're warriors."

_Nap, Year 850_

He stood outside the room, breathing softly and awaiting the emergence of the people inside. Eren, still bruised and beaten from his encounter with Captain Levi at the trial, was being fixed up by Hange and sweet-talked by the Captain and the Commander. He had been little more than a bloody pulp by the time Levi had finished with him, but Nap was not worried. His body regenerated itself, after all. And besides, the trial's result was more important in the long run.

Commander-in-Chief Zackly had given the Survey Corps custody of Eren Jaeger.

It hadn't been a simple task for Eren and the two older men to convince him. The Military Police and the merchants had wanted him studied and killed, in any order possible. Nap attributed this to simple human nature. He couldn't blame them for being afraid of what they didn't know.

His mind turned to his own situation. Hange's experiments of the previous day had revealed several things. First, his ability to protect Langston and Katya from the Titan in Trost had not been a fluke. He was not only able to repel Titans from himself, but Hange had proven that he could shield any humans within a still-unknown vicinity.

Then, of course, there was the second discovery that they had made. Nap's power was triggered by a transformation that occurred when he was in close proximity to the Titans. It was a transformation that left him looking almost identical on the surface, but with several important differences. The obvious ones were in the mouth and the groin. However, he had also made a connection between his tendency to lose his lunch during lulls in battle and the Titans' need to throw up the humans that they ate. It was likely that his internal organs shifted to resemble those of a Titan, forcing him to rid his body of any excess food that it contained.

What disturbed Nap the most was the change that his mind went through when he was in his Titan-esque state. It was as if he completely lost the ability to keep his emotions in check. When the Titan with Mina's face had appeared, he had fallen off the edge entirely and gone totally berserk, and he had completely freaked out when Hange had reached down his pants. He needed to learn how to control himself in that form as well as he did in his everyday life. And after the way he had acted that very morning, he wasn't sure if he could even do that much.

His attention was stolen by Mike as the unreasonably tall Squad Leader opened the door. He walked out of the room and past Nap, followed by Erwin, Hange, Eren, and finally the Captain. Levi was much shorter than he had looked from Nap's vantage point during the trial, but he was just as intimidating as he had been described.

"Is this the other one?" Levi asked, sizing up Nap as if in preparation for a brawl.

"That's right", Erwin replied. While Nap was meeting the two of them for the first time, Erwin had clearly done his research. "Napoleon Pixis, from the 104th Trainee Corps."

"As you know, I'm Captain Levi, leader of the Special Ops Squad. It's a pleasure to meet you, Napoleon", Levi said almost sarcastically, reaching out to shake his hand.

"It's my pleasure as well", said Nap, returning the gesture. Levi's hand was unusually soft for someone in his line of work. "If it's all the same to you, please call me Nap."

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll call you Napoleon", the Captain responded. Nap cocked an eyebrow but didn't pursue the matter any further. There was no reason to pick a fight with humanity's strongest soldier, especially over something silly like a name.

"We'll have to do something about that hair of yours, Napoleon", Levi continued. "I don't like it."

"My hair?" Nap had never considered it to be much of an issue. "It doesn't inconvenience me at all during battle. I don't see any practical reason to cut it."

"I don't care about that." Levi waved his hand dismissively. "I just don't like it."

"I hope that these two haven't turned you off to joining our regiment", said the Commander, referring to Levi as well as Hange, who was staring curiously at Eren. "You'll get used to them soon enough. As of today, I'd like to officially welcome you to the Survey Corps, where you'll be serving in the Special Ops Squad along with Eren."

"Nap's in the Special Ops Squad too?" Eren took a step toward his fellow greenhorn. "What kind of strings did you have to pull for that to happen?"

"None at all", Nap replied, secretly annoyed that Eren didn't acknowledge his full aptitude as a soldier. "You're not the only one who discovered something new about yourself during that battle. It turns out we're both different from everyone else."

"You don't mean-"

"He's a Titan too, in a way. At least, that's the explanation that makes the most sense to me right now", Hange explained to Eren. Even if he had been thinking it the entire time, hearing those words brought about a change in Nap's demeanor.

"His power is different from yours", the Squad Leader continued, "But it's just as mysterious. When Nap is in close proximity to another Titan, his body triggers some sort of transformation that causes him to morph into a Titan-esque version of himself that looks almost identical to his normal form. That's what causes the Titans to ignore him."

"The Titans ignore you because they think you're just like them?" Eren stared into Nap's face before shaking his head. "After everything that's happened in the past few days, I'll believe just about anything you tell me."

"What does that make him, then?" questioned Levi suspiciously. "Some sort of Mini Titan?"

Hange shrugged. "I've been referring to him in my head as a Half Titan, since he still manages to keep a fair number of human characteristics. Even in his transformed state, his brain still operates like a human's, and he is able to perform any of the tasks that he normally would need to during battle. Of course, he can't eat properly due to his lack of a digestive system, but I wouldn't think that that's terribly relevant when surrounded by Titans."

"Regardless of what we may or may not know about it, we can assume that this power will be useful during our next expedition", Erwin said confidently. The Commander of the Survey Corps had a style that differed greatly from that of Nap's grandfather. "Your unique ability and your elite skill are the reasons why I have chosen to place you in Levi's squad. Your job will be to protect Eren with your life."

"Protect Eren with my life? That sounds an awful lot like someone else I know."

Eren grinned slightly before catching a wicked glance from Captain Levi.

"Now that I know my role, I have to ask something", Nap said, addressing the Commander. "What's the objective of this mission you speak of? What are we working toward?"

"The mission's objective", revealed Erwin, "Will be to carve a path from the Karanes District to the Shinganshina District."

Nap's eyebrows shot up.

"We're going to take back Wall Maria."

_Langston, Year 850_

"Are you Langston Pyrite of the 104th Trainee Corps?" The officer's question was a mouthful, but was responded to quickly.

"Y-yes, sir."

"I have orders to take you with me to the Orvud District", explained the man from the Military Police. He had approached Langston soon after the boy had exited the infirmary following his visit to Ava.

"May I ask why, sir?" Langston questioned him nervously. He had an unavoidable feeling that what awaited him in Orvud was something even more frightening than the Titans that he had run from when he had first gone to battle in Trost.

"Your presence was requested by Captain Lara Stendahl of the Military Police. That is the only information to which I am privy at the present time."

"That's exactly what I needed today", Langston lamented. He had known that it was only a matter of time before the distinguished Captain took notice of him, but she had made her move sooner than he had expected. Still, he had no choice but to comply.

"I guess it can't be helped. If my sister wants to see me so badly, I'll let her have her wish."

_Nap and Erwin, Year 850_

"I have one request that I need to make", Nap stated plainly. His meeting with the leader of the Survey Corps would only be a brief one, and he had to take advantage of it.

"Let's hear it, then." The man with the majestic eyebrows had an oozing charisma about him that was apparent even in a mundane statement like this.

"You said that the mission is going to start off in the Karanes District. If possible, I'd like to take a day off from my time with the Special Ops Squad to visit someone there."

"That's an odd request." Erwin pondered it for a moment. "I suppose you can stand to take one day off if it's about something important enough that you needed to speak with me directly."

"Thank you, Commander Smith."

"If I may ask, who is it that you plan to visit in Karanes?"

"The family of a fellow trainee. A friend who was killed during the invasion of Trost."


	11. Preparations Pt 1: Miranda Sieyes

_Otto and Wilhelm, Year 847_

"Excuse me", the girl asked. "I hate to intrude, but those devices you're both wearing… What are those?"

"These right here?" The bearded soldier from the Garrison, Otto Frank, looked at her curiously as he pointed to his hips. "This is Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear. Haven't you ever seen one of us soldiers wearing it before?"

"No, I guess not." She looked the contraptions over for a bit longer. "What purpose do they serve? Do you use them to fight the Titans?"

"We're not the ones that do the fighting, if we can help it", joked the skinnier and more polite soldier, Wilhelm Gatzberg. "Then again, after what happened to Wall Maria, it's likely that more of us will have to learn how to fight them. In case something like that happens again."

"Wall Maria?" The girl looked confused as ever. Her silky bangs covered most of her forehead. "I don't understand. What's Wall Maria, and what happened to it?"

"What kind of rock have you been living under, kid?" asked Otto, appalled at her apparent ignorance. "Everyone knows that Wall Maria is the outermost wall of the three that surround us. At least, it was until the Titans broke through it. But if you haven't even learned basic information like that, what the hell have you been doing all your life?"

"That's not important", she said with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, how could I go about getting some of that equipment?"

"Are you serious?" asked the bearded soldier incredulously.

"Of course I am", the girl replied. "I should be able to fight the Titans as well, shouldn't I?"

"I suppose so." Wilhelm chuckled a bit. "Your best bet would be to join the next Trainee Corps. They're still taking sign-ups if I remember correctly. But that's not a decision you should make lightly. Be sure you're completely prepared."

"Thanks for all your help." She waved her hand as if to say goodbye.

"Hang on for one second. What's your name?"

She turned back to the two men and placed one hand on her hip.

"That's an odd question. I suppose if I had to choose one, it would be… Miranda."

_Nap, Year 850_

The back of Nap's neck felt unnaturally cold. For as long as he could remember, it had been covered up by his thick hair, but that had all changed as soon as Captain Levi had gotten his hands on it. The Captain had insisted on cutting Nap's hair himself, and it had quickly become apparent that he knew how to form only a single style. Thus, Nap's hair became an almost-exact replica of Levi's, something that the boy from the interior was not too happy about.

His freshly cut hair flapped about in the wind as he walked slowly but purposefully through the streets of the Karanes District. He had been given the basic layout of the city by one of the other members of the Levi Squad. Nap had forgotten her name, having only met her the one time, but she had told him that she was a native of the easternmost district of Wall Rose.

It took everything he had in him just to walk up to the front door. The Carolina family's house was barely distinguishable from the others that surrounded it, as was the case in the other outcropping districts that Nap had seen. Despite this, it hadn't been incredibly difficult to find his way there. Gathering as much courage as it would take for the average person to stand up to a Titan, Nap strode up to the door and knocked three times.

_Langston and Lara, Year 850_

"It's been a long time, little brother."

"Five years, in case you weren't keeping track."

"I find it humorous that you chose the name 'Pyrite' to be your new identity." Lara Stendahl spread her legs in front of her and placed a hand on her chin. Her tanned skin and hazel eyes would have given anyone the impression that she was related to Langston, but the creamy light brown waterfall that fell past her shoulders contrasted the dried-up well on his head.

"Why do you say that?"

"It would sound blatantly fake to someone like us", Lara explained. She still wore the same elegant fur coat draped over her Military Police uniform. "Anyone who wasn't educated in the interior like we were, however… They would never be able to see through it like I did. It's ironic that you were able to pull off such a maneuver."

"Glad to see you're as cryptic as ever, sister." Langston Pyrite, formerly known as Langston Stendahl, knew his sister Lara as well as anyone ever had, which wasn't saying much.

"I'd imagine that our mother is still worried about you." Lara shook her head disapprovingly. "You were always her favorite child, but perhaps that's only because she thought that you wouldn't betray her like I did. Serves her right, in the end."

"You know why I did it, don't you?"

"Don't take me for a fool, Langston. I know you loved our mother, but you'd best remember that I had to suffer through her control-freak attitude as well. And I had it even worse than you."

"Why did you call me here, then?" Langston leaned forward in his chair. Lara had arranged a private meeting for the two of them in her office at the Orvud District's HQ Building, which Lara oversaw under the permission of Commander Dock.

"Is it too difficult to believe that I just wanted to catch up with my younger brother?"

"I'm really starting to wish I died in that battle." Langston frowned. He didn't dislike his sister, but she had always been a bit too secretive for his taste.

Lara rose from her armchair and slowly walked toward the table in the corner of the room, which was adorned only with a half-full bottle of liquor. The eldest of the two siblings opened the table's drawer and pulled out a small glass. She briefly paused as if to ask Langston if he wanted any, but then thought better of it. Once Lara had reclaimed her seat and taken her first sip of the beverage, she once again struck up a conversation with her brother.

"I want to know if you'll stand with me, Langston."

"Stand with you? Against what?"

"I'm still not sure, exactly." Lara smiled and took another sip. Their mother would never have approved of her drinking habit.

"I don't understand what you're asking", said Langston, eying her cautiously.

"Don't you think it's odd that we humans have confined ourselves to these walls for so long?"

"What other choice do we have? These walls protected us for a hundred years. We'd all be dead without them."

"And yet, they couldn't protect us forever." Lara drained the rest of her glass in one gulp and stood up to refill. "It's as if the people in charge wanted us to be ruled by the Titans all along."

"Are you saying His Majesty is one of them? He's working with the ones that broke Wall Maria?"

Lara laughed as she put down the bottle and returned to her seat for the second time.

"It just strikes me as bizarre, Langston. I find it peculiar that we humans have lived in these walls for so long, yet so few of us have actually attempted to fight back against the Titans."

"Why did you choose the Military Police, then? If you wanted to fight back so badly, you should have joined the Survey Corps."

"I chose this path for one simple reason." Lara stared at Langston through the glass in her hand. "I needed power. The power to alter the status quo. The power to not lose the world."

Lara finished her second glass, and began to grip it so hard that Langston was afraid it would shatter in her hand.

"Only those with power can hope to change anything, little brother."

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"That's good, Napoleon", Levi finally called out. "You can come down now."

Nap had been blessed with the task of scrubbing the facade of the old Survey Corps HQ, which was serving as the base of operations for the Levi Squad. The Captain, being an unrelenting neatfreak, had quickly put the entire team to work making sure that the place was spotless. Nap had arrived almost a full day later than the others and was naturally the last one still working.

Using his Maneuver Gear to lower himself from the face of the building, Nap landed next to Levi as the man who had cut the boy's hair surveyed the rest of the squad. Nap's bruises still ached, but he had insisted on helping clean up the castle with the others.

"You did a nice job for a rookie." That was the closest thing to praise Nap had heard from Captain Levi since the two of them had met. "Go get ready for dinner. You still eat food, right?"

"As far as I can tell, I still have every limitation that a regular human has", Nap answered, though he himself remained unsure. "I need to eat and sleep just like you."

"The word 'sleep' doesn't exactly describe what I do. Now that you mention it, however, I hope you enjoy sleeping in dungeons. Someone needs to keep Eren company."

"Why does that have to be me?"

"Because I like you. And because I said so." That was what the Captain left him with as he wandered off to places unknown. Nap sighed and leaned against the wall, brushing some dust off his jacket.

"You finally finished, huh?" Nap had sensed someone approaching, but only when he heard the voice did he find out their identity.

"Just a few minutes ago. According to the Captain, we're roommates now."

"I guess that's understandable." Eren stood next to him, arms crossed. "He still doesn't trust us, so he at least wants to keep us together in a place where we can't do any harm."

"It's not as if you didn't know what you were signing up for. Remember, one false step could be the end of you. And where would that put us?"

"You sound like the Captain." Eren smiled a bit as the two newest members of the Scouts stood together in the afternoon sun. "I still have a hard time believing this is real. We're living the dream, Nap. This is what we've been waiting for."

"I don't recall dreaming about sleeping in a dungeon", Nap remarked.

"That's a small price to pay for membership, I guess. This is the Levi Squad. The cream of the crop." The two of them looked out at the four green-cloaked figures who went about their business in front of the building. "These are humanity's finest. Auruo Bossard. Gunther Schultz. Eld Jinn. Petra Ral. Man, she's gorgeous."

"That's funny. I never really thought you were into women like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I just figured that you were only interested in Titans."

They both laughed heartily, catching puzzled stares from the other members of the Special Ops Squad. For the first time since the battle, Nap was thoroughly enjoying himself. Eren was one of the few people who could bring out this side of him.

"I should tell you something, Eren."

"What's that?"

Nap wasn't sure why he had picked this moment to reveal the truth, but he stuck with his gut. Eren needed to hear it, and he would rather it come from a friend. This was an instance where lying would do him no good at all.

"Marco's dead."

_Miranda and Jean, Year 850_

"You're seriously going through with this?"

"You're seriously trying to stop me?"

"Not necessarily." Miranda stomped after Jean, her legs keeping up with his as her bangs flapped about in the wind. "I just want to make sure you're doing this for the right reasons. It isn't a choice you should make on a whim."

"What makes you think it's any of your business?" Jean whirled around, scowling halfheartedly at the concerned girl. "It's not your job to convince me not to do it. Besides, you were talking about joining the Scouts yourself. What gives you the right to talk me out of it?"

"I planned on taking this path from the very start." She narrowed her eyes as he clenched his fist. "But you were always so vocal about the Military Police. What happened to that?"

"As if you even need to ask."

"You're not an idiot, Jean." Miranda tilted her head and smiled in the way that only she knew how. "At least, you're not the same kind of idiot as Eren or Nap, or me for that matter. You're doing this because you want to, right?"

"Obviously." Jean looked her directly in her dark blue eyes. "What about you, then? Why did you choose this path?"

"That's a long story." She shook her head in trademark fashion and began to walk away. "Let's just say I'm trying to atone for some things that I did in the past. Things I'm not too proud of."

"Where are you going?" he called as she continued to drag her feet.

"You don't have to worry about that. I just have something I need to take care of before I leave."

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"What do you think, rookies?" asked the brazen Auruo Bossard, taking a spot between Eren and Nap. His face wore a smug expression that belied his obvious insecurities. "Does the majestic nature of this land not fill you with just a hint of nostalgia?" His efforts to emulate the Captain were as nauseating as they were inaccurate. The two newest members of the Survey Corps exchanged looks as they walked through the woods that led away from the Special Ops Squad HQ. "Of course, the location of this estate does render it rather impractical, however its isolation is exactly what makes it a-"

Without looking where he was going, Auruo had stumbled headfirst into the trunk of a tree. His teeth collapsed around his tongue, and any respect that he hadn't lost the first time he'd inadvertently bitten his tongue was at this point gone forever.

"I'm sorry about him", said the fourth member of their group, the redheaded beauty Petra Ral. She grabbed Auruo by the hood of his cloak and began to drag him along behind her as he whined incoherently with blood dripping from his lips. "I wish I could tell you that he gets better, but there's not much proof on that front."

The Special Ops Squad hadn't been exactly what Nap had expected. He had realized quickly that the Captain was as unconventional as his grandfather, albeit in an entirely different way, but other than Levi's obsessive cleaning desires and Auruo's cringe-worthy antics, the short time that he and Eren had spent with the other five members had been relatively peaceful.

That peace would be ruined as soon as his current group reached their destination. They were headed to a secluded field to continue testing Eren's Titan abilities, and doing so would mean interacting with Hange Zoe once again. Hange's eccentricism may have bordered on terrifying, but it did not do anything to discredit her as a soldier. Even Auruo, despite his unbearable personality, was an elite soldier with twice as many total kills as Nap had made in Trost, even in his Titan-esque form. Eren had been right when he called this squad the cream of the crop.

"Petra, can I ask you something?" Eren looked back as she dusted off the still-dazed Auruo.

"Sure you can", she replied cheerfully. Out of everyone in the squad, Petra had been the most welcoming to the two newcomers, particularly to Eren. He had probably needed it more anyway.

"If I can't control my powers during our experiment, you're going to have to kill me, right?"

"It thertainly took you long enough to realithe", snapped Auruo. His swollen tongue altered the words that came out of his mouth, causing him to sound even more comical than usual.

"The Captain has been trying to find a way to cut you out of the Titan body without killing you", explained Petra. "Still, you shouldn't get complacent. There's a lot that we haven't figured out yet. We can't be too careful, especially after the test subjects were killed."

"The test subjects?" This was the first Nap had heard of it. "You mean Sawney and Bean?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised no one thought to tell you." Petra nodded in dismay. "It happened while you were on your excursion in Karanes. Hange was so devastated, I have no idea how she's still functional enough to carry out this experiment."

"Functional ith a mighty thtrong word to dethcribe her, my dear Petra." At the very least, one had to admire Auruo's persistence. Despite sounding like a strangely verbose toddler, he was keeping up his act as best he could.

"She's certainly more functional than you." Petra rolled her eyes, and Eren laughed awkwardly.

_Katya and Rico, Year 850_

"Here's to you", Rico said jubilantly, "For moving up in the world!"

She and Katya eagerly drained their respective beverages and motioned for the bartender to keep them coming.

"I see you're still just as bad at handling your alcohol", Katya remarked as Rico's face reddened beneath her glasses. Their favorite pub in Trost had only recently reopened, and her former superior had insisted on taking her out to celebrate. Nowadays, it was rare that Katya got to see this side of Rico. She was just glad that it still existed.

"Has the Commander chosen your squad yet?" Rico inquired as their next round of drinks was placed in front of them.

"I was told that I'll be in charge of several of the rookies, since I'm the newest Squad Leader out of them all." Katya began working on her third drink of the night.

"Ah, the rookies." Rico grinned at the ceiling. "The ones who aren't skilled enough to make the Military Police but aren't dumb enough to join the Survey Corps. That was once us, you know."

"I remember."

Humanity had been losing to the Titans for so long that it was hard to focus on anything else. For as long as Katya had been under Rico's command, she had admired the elite soldier's tenacity and refusal to give up. It was that kind of attitude that had made the recapturing of the city possible, and it was also what made the victory so much sweeter for all of them.

And so they drank. They drank to the lives that had been lost during the battle, and to the lives that were saved because of it. Humanity had survived thanks to them.

"What are a couple of beautiful ladies like you doing in a joint like this?"

Katya turned away from her half-full mug and feasted her eyes upon a familiar blonde man with a thin mustache. He was dressed in the same uniform that she and Rico still wore.

"I wasn't aware that you still frequented bars, Captain Hannes", Rico said with feigned hostility. "Aren't you supposed to be sober now? You know, for the kids."

"You must be pretty drunk if you're making a joke like that, Rico", Hannes retorted.

"It's doubtful that she'll be able to remember any of this in the morning." Katya was grinning in a way that she hadn't since before the battle. No, it had been even longer than that. She and Rico were the sole survivors of the elite squad, save for the trainees that had accompanied them, but for the remaining humans, the future was looking brighter than it ever had. Katya had a sense of purpose in life that she hadn't felt since her trainee days.

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

Nap's breathing grew noticeably heavier. He drew his blades along with the rest of the Levi Squad and prepared for the worst.

"Remember this, everyone!" At the very least, Hange was showing no signs of apprehension. "We still can't be sure that Eren will be able to control himself, so be ready in case something goes wrong. Levi isn't here, so we'll need to be extra careful, but let's just try it out, okay?"

Levi had left earlier in the day with Mike, presumably to meet with the Commander. Nap had deduced that none of the Special Ops Squad knew the purpose of this rendezvous, and he didn't take Hange for the traitorous type. He ultimately decided to let it go.

Hange stepped backwards toward Nap so that Eren alone was framed in the setting sun. He cautiously looked back and forth between his own hand and the other soldiers.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Gunther asked the question everyone else was thinking.

"Captain Levi gave her his blessing", replied Eld, the voice of reason in their leader's absence. "If things get hairy, we'll simply need to act fast and cut him out of there like we practiced."

"But we haven't practiced on the real thing." Nap was just as skeptical as the next guy.

"Let's just have faith in him." Petra gave Eren a warm smile, which he returned in full. "You can do this, Eren. Just remember what you're doing it for."

In addition to some form of bodily harm, Eren needed a clear purpose in mind in order to transform. When he had first taken the form of a Titan in Trost, his goal had been to wipe out all of the other Titans. When he had transformed after the battle, he had been trying to protect Armin and Mikasa from a cannonball. What Nap still found disturbing was the chaos that occurred following Eren's third appearance in his Titan form, when Eren had attempted to harm Mikasa almost as if he had been a mindless Titan like the rest of them.

From what Nap had heard, Eren had had no trouble controlling himself during the previous handful of experiments, with the exception of one occurrence when he failed to transform until he needed to pick up a spoon. Nap hadn't been allowed near the testing site due to the exact thing that Hange was about to figure out. The purpose of their current experiment was to gage Nap's reaction to Eren's Titan powers. They were going to find out if even a human in Titan form was able to trigger Nap's transformation. At least, that was what he had been told. He knew better than to think that Hange didn't have other motives.

"Whenever you're ready, Eren", Hange called out as she took her spot next to Nap.

Eren looked at them nervously, then nodded. The tension among the soldiers built as he brought his hand to his mouth and ferociously chomped down on it, beginning the process of his Titan transformation with a thunderous crash.

A few seconds later, Eren's full fifteen-meter Titan form stood before the Levi Squad, still smoking from the transformation process but looking just as formidable as Nap remembered.

"Let's get started, then." Hange turned toward Nap and pointed to his mouth. "Open up."

Nap complied, though he was not exactly thrilled about letting this woman stick her hands inside of his mouth. He knew even before Hange confirmed it that he had changed.

"It's just like I thought", Hange said. "Now, I need to check one more thing. I want to see if you possess the same regenerative abilities as-"

"Hange, look out!"

Eld's exclamation was all Nap heard before Eren's Titan fist blindsided him, knocking him out cold before he even knew what was going on.

_Miranda, Year 850_

"What business do you have inside Wall Sina?" asked the only man who stood in her way. With the search for the person responsible for killing Sawney and Bean still going on, there were a sparse number of soldiers available to protect the gates.

"I was told to report to Commander Dock." Miranda hoped against hope that her bluff would work. "I'm not sure what he wants with me, but those are my orders."

The officer from the Military Police narrowed his eyes for a second before laughing in her face.

"Nice try, kid. The Commander left the interior earlier today. Anyone who has any business with him would know that."

"I guess I was mistaken." Miranda put on an innocent face that didn't fool anyone.

"Why are you really here?" The man carried the type of rifle that was typical of his regiment. If Miranda wasn't careful, she would come out on the wrong side of the situation.

"You got me." She reached down toward her belt and pulled out a small sack. She jiggled it around in her palm so that the man could hear the sound of money inside of it. "I think we both know that every man has his price. Now, be a dear and let me pass, won't you?"

_Nap, Year 850_

He awoke to gaze upon an unfamiliar ceiling with a throbbing pain in his head. The room had a single window that he could see if he turned his body slightly. Outside, the sky was as dark as his own hair. He gradually sat up, squinting and rubbing his forehead.

"Look who finally woke up."

Nap glanced back and forth between the two soldiers who had been standing by the doorway. He recognized them as two members of Hange's crew that he had been briefly introduced to when he had first met the Squad Leader. Keiji and Nifa.

"Don't try to move too quickly." Nifa crossed the room and took up a spot at the foot of his bed. Nap discovered that, up close, her face looked awfully similar to Armin's. He wondered to himself if it was weird that he found her attractive.

"What… Happened?" Nap managed to ask.

"We only know what Squad Leader Hange told us." Keiji followed Nifa's lead and strode to the side of the bed. "Apparently the Titan kid tried to clobber you."

"Hange… She's okay, then?"

"She's got a few bruises", Nifa answered, "But she's never been one to let that slow her down."

"What about Eren?" Nap had been privy to the Captain's fallback plan in case Eren was ever unable to control himself in Titan form. While it was certainly better than killing him outright, the loss of all of his limbs may have driven Eren crazy. They would likely have regenerated themselves by that point, however.

"The rest of the Levi Squad cut him out of the Titan before everything went to hell", Keiji replied. "From what I heard, he never tried to attack anyone other than you."

"So, everyone's alright?"

"Not quite." Nifa shook her head. "When Eren swung his fist at you and the Squad Leader…"

"Petra thought on her feet and swooped in to save her", Keiji continued. "But she got hit by the punch. She's recovering now, but her leg looks pretty bad."

"You mean… No, that can't be…"

"Try and go back to sleep", Nifa advised him. "She'll get better eventually, so don't worry about her. Although, it doesn't look like she's going to be on her feet in time for the expedition."

"All of this…" Throughout the conversation, Nap had gradually become aware of other pains in his body. Apparently he lacked the Titans' regenerative abilities. "All of this is because he thought I was one of them."

"I didn't take you for the self-pitying type, Napoleon." Keiji and Nifa saluted as Captain Levi appeared in the doorway. He motioned for them to leave the room before approaching the bed.

"Is what they said about Petra true?" Nap couldn't help but wonder if things would have gone differently had Levi not been absent during the experiment. He was sure that the Captain had at least thought about it as well.

"That's not what you need to be concerned about right now", Levi said bluntly. "We're proceeding with the expedition in one month's time, with or without Petra. In the meantime, we'll have to replace her. That's just how it goes."

"And what about Eren? Will he be okay?"

"Look at you, showing concern for other people." He hadn't known the Captain for very long, but Nap still found it impressive that the man rarely shifted his expression. Even now, with Petra injured and Eren's status unknown, Nap could barely keep up his mask.

"You say that as if you're not concerned about them. Is that a correct assumption?"

"There's something that you should learn sooner rather than later, Napoleon." Levi pursed his lips and blew out a small amount of air. "Feeling sorry for someone doesn't help them at all. It's useless to live your life full of regret. Hange made the decision to continue with the experiment in my absence, and she and I both stand by that choice. There's nothing else we can do."

"I suppose you're right." Nap wished that he could be as heartless as Levi appeared to be. Perhaps it would come with time. "Now, you said that you needed a replacement for Petra. I'd like to give my recommendation, if that's acceptable."

"Let's hear it.".

"There's a member of my trainee class. Mikasa Ackerman." She and Nap may have butted heads on occasion, but he held her in high esteem as a soldier. "She's been extremely close to Eren for a long time, and she possesses a skill level similar to mine. I may have taken the top spot in our class, but Shadis said we were neck and neck until the very end."

"Not a bad choice based on skill alone." Levi appeared slightly pensive for a moment before shaking his head. "However, it's impossible to trust her with this type of work. Remember, if Eren goes out of control, we're the ones who would have to execute him without hesitation. Do you really think that a girl who loves him would be willing to do that?"

"No, I guess not." Nap had assumed that Levi would say something of the sort, but he had felt that it was at least worth a try.

"Don't worry your little head about it", Levi said, though he himself stood at least a head shorter than Nap. "I've got someone in mind who would be a perfect fit."

_Langston, Year 850_

The night wasn't particularly cold, but Langston's entire body was trembling. He looked down at his hands, hoping that none of the other trainees could see them visibly shaking. Then again, most of them probably felt the exact same way. This was the spot where they would all make their decisions. They would choose whether or not they wanted to risk becoming part of the sixty-percent casualty rate that came with a life in the Survey Corps.

He thought back to the night when he had gathered up what little courage he had and sat down at the table with Nap, Annie and Mina. Compared to the decision that he was about to make, that act seemed meaningless. But the times that he had shared with the three of them as a result of that act were ones that he could never let go of.

Mina was dead. They had all come to accept it. Nap was already working with the Scouts along with Eren. Annie stood silently next to Langston, ready to make the very same choice as him.

Was this really what his life had become?

"I am Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps."

The leader of humanity's vanguard stood alone on the stage, illuminated only by the torches that burned in the dark. Langston stood and watched along with the rest of the surviving members of his trainee class, save for Nap, Eren, and Miranda.

"You trainees have all gathered here with the purpose of choosing a regiment to become a part of. I'm here to make a case for you to join the Scouts. During the attack on Trost, you discovered the horrors that the Titans are capable of, and humanity's own limitations."

Langston glanced at the faces of the trainees around him. Sasha. Armin. Vic. Christa. Even Ava with her broken arm and Abby with her eyepatch. He had a hard time believing that even the charismatic Erwin would be able to convince all of them to stay and join his parade of corpses.

"However, this battle also led to the discovery of something that has never been seen in the history of our battles with the Titans. I am referring, of course, to Eren Jaeger."

Eren was a Titan. Nap wasn't a normal human either. Langston had seen both of them use their powers firsthand in Trost, but still had a hard time believing it.

"He has proven to be a valuable and loyal resource in our struggle. With his assistance, we were not only able to suppress the Titan invasion, but we were also able to gain information that can potentially be used to defeat the Titans once and for all."

This managed to rouse a small amount of hubbub among the gathered trainees.

"Located in the basement of Eren's Shinganshina home, we believe there exists information about the Titans that even he does not know of. If we are able to reach that basement, there is a chance that we will be able to break free from our century of imprisonment."

Langston swallowed loudly. His hands would not stop shaking.

"In one month, we will set out for the Shinganshina District. However, in order to do so, it is necessary that we retake Wall Maria. Therefore, our objective remains the same."

A crude map was carried onto the stage by a ridiculously tall man with insubstantial facial hair and a kind-looking woman with short blonde hair.

"Now that we are unable to use the gate in Trost, we will be forced to take a much longer route from Karanes District in the east. The route that we spent four years carving out has become utterly useless to us."

Lara had told Langston the same thing when he had asked her what she thought the Scouts' next move would be. But even she hadn't anticipated that Erwin would be this bold.

"Any new recruits who join our ranks will be expected to partake in the mission one month from now. In all likelihood, one third of you will not make it back alive. In a few years' time, the majority of you will be dead."

These words didn't exactly do much to persuade the trainees to stay, but Langston knew that Erwin felt it necessary to portray the reality that they would face outside the walls.

"However, those of you who survive will become hardened soldiers with a higher survival rate."

Erwin paused and looked down at his feet. When he looked up, he seemed to make eye contact with every single one of the trainees.

"You have been told of the dismal state of affairs. If you are willing to put your life on the line, remain here. Ask yourselves if you are truly willing to give your hearts for humanity. That is all I have to say. Those of you who wish to join other regiments are dismissed."

The trainees didn't wait long. As soon as Erwin left the stage, they began filing out of the amphitheater, one after the other. Langston looked all around him at the faces that passed by. First it was Annie who left his side and calmly walked away from almost-certain death. Then it was Vic, and Ava, and the vast majority of their class.

His head bowed in shame, Langston turned around and joined them.

_Miranda, Year 850_

She hadn't ever seen the building from the outside, seeing as how it had been completely obliterated the last time she was there. Her journey to the destitute chapel had taken her most of the day, and it was already several hours into the night when she first laid eyes upon it. Seeing the unassuming building bathed in moonlight brought back memories that she would have preferred to keep hidden, but she pressed on, throwing open the doors with no second thought.

On the inside, the building looked just like any other church. She was impressed at how quickly it had been rebuilt following its destruction. The official reports had said that the chapel was destroyed by bandits, which she found rather comical. After all, when was the last time a group of bandits had torn down an entire building?

"Looks like nobody's home", she remarked to herself. "That's a shame. I was hoping to find him here, but it looks like he's not as much of an idiot as I thought."

She walked down the aisle like a bride at a wedding, passing by rows and rows of generic pews that would have fooled just about anyone. But she knew exactly what this place was. She paused as she reached the altar, wondering if she was truly ready for what lay beneath. Gathering her strength, she placed both hands on the altar and flipped it over, disturbing the first several rows of pews as well as the rug underneath it.

"Well, I should probably do what I came here to do. I told myself I'd never use this power again, but it's not as if I really have a choice right now. Miranda Sieyes is going rogue."

The girl currently known as Miranda Sieyes reached down to her belt for the second time that day and grabbed hold of the small knife that she always kept with her. It was the same knife that she had used to carve the picture of Keith Shadis into the frame of the cannon she had been cleaning before the Colossal Titan destroyed the gate of Trost. She had no idea how she had made it through the days since then with her sanity intact.

Miranda took a deep breath and pricked the tip of her thumb.


	12. Preparations Pt 2: Best Friend

_Petra, Year 843_

"We now begin the enlistment ceremony for the 100th Trainee Corps! I am Tyrel Novak, and I had the misfortune to be assigned to train you bastards. And I'm not here to welcome you at all! Right now, you're mere cattle, fit for nothing but Titan food! In three years, we'll take you useless pieces of crap and train you. Give you the means to fight the Titans. In three years, when you stand before a Titan, will you still be food? Or will you be a noble wall, shielding the king? Or perhaps, one of humanity's glorious soldiers that slay Titans? You will decide!"

Petra Ral stood her ground as the bearlike man approached her. Tyrel Novak had earned his fame in the Garrison, where he had served as one of the top subordinates under Commander Pixis. The instructor was known for his no-nonsense attitude and his willingness to do anything necessary to drive home his point.

"You, there!" Novak called to the small, red-haired girl near the front of the formation.

"Yes, sir!" Petra's salute was perfect, but she felt dangerously close to wetting herself out of fear. She stared up into Novak's face as he towered over her like a slightly smaller Titan.

"Who are you?" The routine question was barked out by Novak.

"Petra Ral from Karanes District, sir!"

Novak crossed his arms in front of his chest and scowled.

"Why are you here, Petra Ral?"

"I want to join the Survey Corps and aid in humanity's fight, sir!"

Petra's answer was met with a short, innocent giggle from a trainee a few rows back. Appalled that someone would disrespect him in such a way, Novak immediately forgot about Petra Ral and sought out the source of the outburst.

"You, there! You think you're so funny, huh?"

Petra watched as the tall girl who had been unable to control herself snapped into a hasty salute for all the world to see.

"I'm sorry, sir. I just found it amusing that someone could be so disgustingly noble."

"You're amused, are you? Okay then, let's hear your story. Who are you?"

The girl smiled and stared straight into Novak's fearsome eyes.

"Leanne Fawkes, from the Shinganshina District."

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

Several days had passed since Eren unexpectedly attacked him, but Nap's body still felt sore all over. He would have traded all of the Titan traits that he did possess in exchange for their regenerative abilities if he had been given the option. At the present time, he was accompanying the rest of the Levi Squad, including Eren, as they went to meet up with their new member, who for all intents and purposes was Petra's replacement.

Nap had gone to visit Petra as soon as he had been able to walk. Her left leg had been injured when she had pushed Hange out of the way of Eren's Titan punch, and it was highly doubtful that she would be able to recover in time for the expedition, which was quickly approaching. He had taken Levi's advice and buried his regret, but he had still felt the need to apologize to her at the very least. Nap couldn't help but feel a bit responsible for causing the injury.

The entirety of the Special Ops Squad saluted as Levi rode up to them on horseback, followed closely by a woman who could only have been the newcomer herself. Her auburn hair was several shades darker than Petra's, and her eyes were the same piercing green as Eren's. As Nap looked her over, she appeared more and more to be the lovechild of the two of them. She was missing the ring finger on her left hand, and the injury appeared to be an old one.

The Captain and the newcomer dismounted and walked leisurely toward the rest of their team. This woman was significantly taller than Levi, though that wasn't much of an accomplishment considering the incredibly small figure that he possessed. Levi cast a frowning glance at each of the assembled soldiers before introducing her.

"Levi Squad, this is our newest member, Leanne Fawkes."

The woman called Leanne gave a methodical salute. Nap recognized the look in her eyes as the same one that he had seen in Katya's eyes the first time that he had met her. It was a look that he had seen briefly in the eyes of Anka and Gustav, as well as every member of the Garrison's elite squad and every member of the Levi Squad. In all likelihood, this was a look that he and his comrades would wear themselves one day. Leanne Fawkes wore the look of a battle-tested soldier with nothing left to lose, save for her own life.

"Welcome aboard, Leanne", Gunther said warmly. The veterans were obviously familiar with her, though to Nap and Eren she was still a stranger.

"It's good to see you're still alive and kicking", remarked Auruo. Nap had been hoping against hope that the young man who had tried so hard to imitate Levi would trash his pitiful routine with Petra out of the picture, and thankfully he had gotten his wish. Auruo had even quit wearing his utterly pointless cravat.

"Good to see you too, Auruo. I like what you've done with your hair", Leanne said in a voice that was as powerful as it was noticeably feminine. Her hair and her surname were clearly not the only things about her that could be perceived as foxy.

"I've informed Leanne about your little episode the other day", Levi explained to Eren. "Since you only attempted to attack Napoleon and none of the others, Hange came to the conclusion that you were honing in on him because you thought he was a Titan. It should go without saying that something like this can't be allowed to happen in the future. We need better results from you, Eren. Otherwise, we may have to go one step further and just kill you outright. Personally, I was in favor of doing that regardless. If it happens again, I might not have a choice."

"I understand, sir." The boy from Shinganshina looked as if he had been told off by one of his nonexistent parents. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to go visit Petra and apologize. I haven't had a chance to see her since I recovered."

"Sure, it makes no difference to me", Levi replied lazily. "There's no way I'm letting you go anywhere alone, though. Leanne, keep him company."

"Shouldn't I be catching up on what the rest of our squad has been working on?" asked the redheaded woman.

"I wasn't planning on doing any more work today, unless you're interested in cleaning out Petra's old room." While it was rather uncharacteristic of Levi, this attitude was still understandable. "Besides, I think she would enjoy seeing you."

_Miranda, Year 850_

"Listen carefully, rookies! I am your Squad Leader, Dita Ness, and this is my horse, Shallot."

By all accounts, the man standing in front of the graduates of the 104th Trainee Corps looked extremely average. He wore a white bandana atop his head and sported a beard around his jaw. Ness rubbed the muzzle of a brown horse as Miranda looked on with a bored expression.

"These horses love to pull hair, so be careful if you want to avoid going bald."

The Invisible Soldier was as unconcerned about this trivial fact as she could have possibly been about anything. Her hair would grow back, after all, as would any other part of her body that was damaged. Shallot was the least threatening creature in the world to her.

On cue, the beast chomped down on the Squad Leader's bandana and attempted to pry it from the man's head, revealing his bald spot as it did. On another day, she may have found the situation rather amusing, but she was not in a position to be having any amount of fun.

She had needed every bit of courage that she could have possibly mustered to simply return to that place. Yet she had done it, and she had done what she had set out to do. She had made sure that no one would ever be put through the same horrors that she had been forced to endure in the cavern that lay beneath that chapel.

For the first time since she had returned from that place, Miranda put on her typical smile as she glanced to either side of her at the other members of the 104th who had chosen to join the Scouts. Unlike her, most of them had only made up their minds recently.

Armin, Mikasa, Bertolt, Reiner, Sasha, Connie, Christa, Ymir, and even Jean. The most surprising member of their new group, however, was the girl positioned directly to her left, wearing an eyepatch that only covered up a small portion of the damage that had been done to her face, standing shorter than any of the other soldiers except for Christa.

Miranda didn't know Abigail particularly well, but she hadn't pegged the girl as someone who was likely to risk her life outside of the walls. Then again, she had felt the same way about most of the others who stood with her. What they had gone through in Trost had shaped their lives more than any of them had realized at the time.

_Katya, Year 850_

"Attention, rookies!" she called out. If Katya was at all nervous about her first day on the job, she did not show it. "I am Katya Drake, your new Squad Leader. Starting today, I will be showing you the ropes, so to speak. I'd also like to be one of the first to welcome you to the Garrison."

As he had alluded to, Commander Pixis had placed her in charge of a platoon of four new recruits. She stared them down one by one. They were all graduates of the same trainee class as Nap, but they had chosen a different life. A safer life, or so they thought.

These former trainees had all been through hell once in their young lives, but as Katya knew, the battle that had occurred in Trost was only the first of many horrors that the four new recruits in front of her would face. That being said, they had all managed to survive, and she was impressed with that fact as it was.

Victor Paulus, who had ended the life of a quadrupedal Titan just as it devoured one of his own squadmates. Hilde Schultz, who had survived a run-in with two aberrants at the same time. Jericho Grimm, who had been knocked off the wall by the Colossal Titan as it destroyed the gate. And Ava Miller, whose injured arm still had not healed completely.

Not long ago, Katya had been in their position. Since then, she had lost several friends and several more acquaintances, and at one point she had very nearly lost the will to live. But she had been reborn with a completely new purpose in life, and she was determined to fulfill her promise, even if it meant wiping out every last Titan by herself. She would not put the faith that Commander Pixis and his grandson had shown in her to waste.

_Langston, Year 850_

"Listen up, kids, because I'm only gonna say this once." The drunken officer clumsily scratched his bright orange hair with his left hand as he paced leisurely back and forth in front of the new members of the Military Police. "My name is Captain Caleb Lynch, and I'm the one who gets to boss you rooks around, got it?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

"Since you've all been assigned to the Stohess District, you're gonna be taking over a lot of the work around here. Any questions?"

Once again, he didn't wait.

"Good, that's all I have to say. Class dismissed."

The lethargic Caleb Lynch yawned loudly before disappearing into a room where several other men from the Military Police were already playing cards. Langston's body relaxed. He had been standing in line with the other new recruits, the ones who had graduated in the top ten of their trainee classes. While most of the eligible trainees from the other branches had accepted their opportunities with open arms, he and Annie were the only members of the southern division of the 104th to choose a life in the interior.

"That bastard", growled one of the rookies to his left. "I can't believe how lazy he is. Does he expect us to do all of his work for him?"

"Chill out, Marlowe", advised the girl who stood between Annie and the boy with the bowl cut. "You're so ridiculously uptight that it hurts sometimes."

Most of the newcomers had dispersed by that point. Annie stood quietly next to Langston and two recruits from other branches of the 104th, Marlowe Freudenberg and Hitch Dreyse. Rather than stick with his pseudonym, Langston had gone back to using his real surname, Stendahl. There was no point in hiding when he had already been found.

"You two said you were from the south, right?" Langston hadn't realized that Marlowe's attention had turned to him.

"Y-yeah, that's right." He still needed time to gain some confidence around strangers like these.

"I'd let you go down south on me, if you know what I mean." The girl called Hitch leered at him with eyes that were more frightening than the Titans that he had fled from. It was true that he had grown into his body and become a fairly handsome young man, but Langston's skills in the romance department were practically nonexistent. With someone as eager as Hitch, however, it may not have even mattered.

"Seriously, Hitch, could you be more repulsive?" Marlowe's voice was layered with disdain. He rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the recruits from the south. "Why aren't there more of you here? Was the rest of your class wiped out in Trost?"

"No, not all of them." Langston nearly gagged as he pictured Marco's disfigured body slumped against the side of a building. He hadn't been incredibly close with the freckled boy, but Marco had always acted kindly toward him in their limited interactions. "Most of the top graduates from the south chose the Survey Corps instead."

"That's dumb", Hitch said bluntly. "Why would they do that when they've got the Military Police waiting for them with open arms?"

"Big talk, coming from someone who had to resort to distasteful methods to even make it this far." Marlowe and Hitch were apparently unable to find even a sliver of common ground. "Even if their faith is misguided, they joined the Scouts because they thought that they could change things. Isn't that it, Langston?"

"Yeah, some of them are like that", he replied honestly. "Others, I'm not so sure about. But I get the feeling you didn't choose this branch for the same reason as everyone else, right, Marlowe?"

"You're correct in your assumption." The boy from the north gave an Eren-like scowl. "I chose the Military Police because I wanted to make things different around here. Once I rise to the top, the corruption that exists within this branch will be history."

"You sound like a certain idiot that we know." The other three were taken by surprise when Annie finally spoke up.

"What's that?" Marlowe was somewhat taken aback. "You open your mouth for the first time just to say something like that?"

"I was actually thinking the same thing." Langston caught himself smiling for an unknown reason. "I think we were both picturing the same person. Right, Annie?"

_Eren and Petra, Year 850_

Palms sweaty, Eren steeled himself as he walked through the already-open door and into Petra's room. Leanne had insisted on hanging back, out of sight, for reasons that she promised to explain to him at a later time.

"It's good to see you, Eren."

Petra waved at him as he approached her bed slowly. Her legs were hidden under a blanket, which was probably for the best. Seeing firsthand what he had done to her body would have made this feel all the more real to him.

Eren took a seat in the chair by her side, his body shaking slightly. Seeing Petra in this state amplified all of the guilt and grief that he had done everything in his power to suppress ever since the attack on Trost. He had seen his friends slaughtered mercilessly by the Titans. Even Marco, one of the best and brightest, had met his end during the battle. And though he didn't remember it, he had tried to attack Mikasa in his Titan form.

What disturbed Eren the most was the way he had swung his fist at Nap during their last experiment. He hadn't felt like a mindless Titan at the time. He had seen the other members of the Levi Squad, and he hadn't been compelled to hurt them like he had done to Mikasa. But the second his eyes fell upon Nap, that had all changed. Eren still couldn't understand why, but at that moment he had wanted nothing more than to erase his friend from existence altogether.

Because of that, Petra had been injured. Because of his screw-up, she was lying in a bed before him, unable to participate in an expedition that would likely be a key factor in the advancement of humanity's retaliation against the Titans. Because of Eren, it would be several weeks before she could even walk on her own two feet.

"You shouldn't be so tense."

Eren took his gaze off his lap and stared wide-eyed at Petra. Despite everything that she had been through because of him, she managed to look back at him with a smile on her face. His eyes fell once more as his heart began to beat faster.

"How can I not be tense? It's my fault that this happened to you."

"You think I didn't know what I was signing up for?" Petra gave him her adorable little laugh once again. "I'm not sure how you can blame yourself for this, Eren."

"It's impossible for me to stop blaming myself." His hands gripped his knees so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I should have been able to control myself. There's no excuse for what I did to you back there."

"You're being too hard on yourself." Eren looked up once more into Petra's warm, genuine smile. She took one of his hands in her own and squeezed it softly. "There's no point in beating yourself up over something that already happened. What you can do is learn from it and become stronger because of it. I'm going to be fine. Just promise me you'll be fine too, okay?"

For the first time since he had woken up following the incident, Eren felt at ease. He grinned and nodded as Petra retracted her hand. Standing up, Eren put on a bold salute.

"Thank you, Petra." The two of them beamed at each other. His visit had done as much to help her as it had to help him. "I'll continue to believe in myself. And I'll make sure to give the Titans one for you, as soon as the expedition begins."

"That's just what I wanted to hear." She did her best to manage an awkward salute from her position. "Good luck, Eren."

With his conscience cleared almost entirely, Eren waved goodbye and exited the room. Waiting patiently for him, out of sight but well within earshot, was Leanne Fawkes.

"You're done already?" she asked, unfolding her arms after they had taken a few steps.

"There wasn't really much to talk about", Eren replied. "But I feel a lot better now, and I'm sure Petra does too."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Leanne's dimples revealed themselves as she showed him a reluctant smile. "You know, if I had been the one to go in there, Petra and I probably wouldn't have ever stopped talking."

"Why do you say that?"

"She's my best friend." The redheaded woman gently rubbed the stump of her finger with her opposite hand. "She has been ever since our trainee days."

"You two are best friends?" Eren stopped in his tracks, causing Leanne to do the same. "Why didn't you go in there with me, then? Don't you want to talk to her?"

"It's not that simple, Eren." Leanne tilted her head slightly. "I'm not sure what Petra would think if she knew that I had taken her place. I don't know if she'd ever forgive me."

"That sounds like a cop-out to me", he said brazenly. "What's the actual reason?"

Leanne sighed and resumed walking. Eren followed her, still expecting an answer.

"I used to be a lot like you, kid", she said after a while, puzzling Eren.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Captain Levi told me that Shinganshina was your home." She turned her head enough to keep her eyes on both him and the hallway in front of her. "It was mine, too."

"Seriously?" Eren once again came to a halt, as did a slightly peeved Leanne. "But that means-"

"Yeah, it means that I lost my home just like you did." She rubbed her stump once more, as she did nearly every time she thought about the past. "Sometimes it's difficult for me to even remember what my world was like before that day. There are so many things that I wish I had done differently, but that's life. You don't get a second chance, no matter how much you think you need or deserve one. So despite how close Petra and I are, there's only one person I can really count on in a pinch, and that's myself. You should learn that, kid."

_Leanne and Petra, Year 844_

"Long story short, that's how I manage to make such deep cuts on the dummies", Leanne bragged between bites of bread. "It won't be very useful to me in the interior, but it sure helps make me look good in Novak's eyes."

Petra was the only other trainee sitting near her at the table. It would have been difficult for an outsider to understand why she took the time to associate with a person like Leanne, but neither one of them would let anything like that get to them.

"You're right about one thing." Petra took a small sip of her drink. "It's going to be a lot of fun once we've graduated and moved on from here."

None of the trainees had ever figured out the true contents of the drinks that were served to them, but she continued to consume hers because it tasted somewhat decent.

"Stop joking around, Petra." Leanne playfully slapped her on the back, causing Petra's beverage to splash all over her face. "You've gone on about this Scout thing long enough. Tell me why you're really here."

"I told you, I'm really serious about joining the Survey Corps", the shorter girl said amid a flurry of coughs. She sloppily wiped her face with the sleeve of her gray shirt.

"Come on, you don't need to lie to me." Leanne sounded somewhat offended by the notion that her closest friend would even try something like that. "The Scouts are a joke. They've never been able to accomplish anything."

"Why don't you say that again?" called a stocky, light-haired boy at an adjacent table. He rose from his seat between two other trainees and flashed a contemptuous look at her.

"Calm down, Auruo", she said with a pitying smile as she too stood up and walked leisurely toward his table. "Everyone here knows that you only want to join the Survey Corps because you're hopelessly in love with Petra."

"You're a moron if you think you'll be any safer in the interior." The young Auruo and his beady eyes stared straight at Leanne as the attention of all the other trainees gravitated to their area. "Then again, maybe you've gone soft in the head already."

"What's your point?" Leanne asked in an irritated voice. "I couldn't care less what regiment you decide to join. Just don't come butting in where you don't belong, you suicidal bastard."

Several of the other trainees snickered as they heard this nickname for the first time. Auruo knew that he couldn't wait too long to respond to her insult.

"Do you really think it makes sense that you're honing your fighting skills just to get placed further away from the Titans? If those of us who are capable decide not to fight back, that just leaves everyone else at their mercy forever!"

"That doesn't concern me at all, but thanks for wasting my time." Leanne rolled her eyes. "The Titans haven't broken through the walls in a hundred years. You're a fool if you truly believe that fighting back will do any good for anyone. But I'd expect nothing less from you."

"You're just a coward!" Auruo furiously approached Leanne and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. "You think this world exists just for your sake?"

At this point, Petra sprung from the seat next to the one that had previously been occupied by Leanne.

"Stop that, both of you!" She firmly placed her hands on Leanne's shoulders and walked her a few steps backwards, away from the still-fuming Auruo.

"Sorry, Petra", Leanne said sheepishly. "You know I never wanted to start any trouble."

Petra smiled at her while Auruo returned to his seat, never taking his glaring eyes off of her.

_Eren and Leanne, Year 850_

"This might sound crazy, but I had a confrontation just like that with someone in my trainee group", Eren remarked upon the conclusion of her story.

"That doesn't sound crazy at all", Leanne replied. "Though I'm sure you were on the opposite end of the argument, knowing you."

"Yeah, but it all seems kind of petty now that I think about it." By this time, their stroll had almost taken them to the exterior of the castle, though they had both realized that they had no intended destination due to the dispersal of their squad for the day.

"You can probably predict what happened next." She leaned against the wall only a few meters from the entranceway. "Less than a year later, the Titans broke through Wall Maria. My entire family was still living in Shinganshina, and none of them made it out alive. The world that I once knew changed completely once I heard the news." Leanne sighed audibly and closed her eyes.

"So, that's when you chose to join the Survey Corps instead of the Military Police?" Eren had responded with surprising indifference to Leanne's tale, but considering his own past, it was understandable that he would be rather jaded in that regard.

"Yeah, that's when I finally started to understand what goes on in Petra's head." Leanne curled her left hand into a fist and took her back off of the wall. "Come on, we should keep walking. We'll end up somewhere eventually."

When they emerged from one of the many exits of the former Survey Corps HQ, they were greeted by a single green-cloaked figure with a relatively empty expression. He had attempted to slick back his hair, as he had done at times when it had been longer, but Nap Pixis lamented the fact that even in this state it still looked a bit too Levi-esque for his satisfaction.

"How is Petra doing?" Nap asked as Eren approached him, while Leanne hung back.

"She's still in high spirits, somehow", Eren answered. "What are you doing out here?"

"Auruo told me that he saw the new recruits heading over here, so I came to meet them." Nap's tongue instinctively brushed against the inside of his cheek.

"No way!" Eren grinned widely at the thought of seeing his friends again. "We'll finally get to see who decided to join the Survey Corps, then."

"Don't get your hopes up", said the realistically-inclined Nap. "Other than the few locks that we know of like Mikasa and Miranda, I doubt many of our classmates decided to join. Especially considering what they all went through during the last battle."

"I guess we'll find out right now", Eren replied excitedly, pointing to a small parade of figures in the not-too-far-off distance. "Leanne, can we go talk to our friends?"

"What am I, your mother?" she asked absentmindedly.

Without a second thought, Nap and Eren sprinted off in the direction of their peers. The group had almost passed them by entirely when the two of them rounded a corner and saw a pair of familiar figures stationed at the back.

"Mikasa! Armin!" Eren called out to them.

The boy and girl at the rear of the group turned around in a hurry when they heard their names. Mikasa wore her trademark scarf as well as the scar that she received when Eren had attempted to strike her in his Titan form. Nap now knew exactly how that felt.

"It feels like it's been forever!" Eren said ecstatically, running up to the both of them while Nap lagged a few steps behind.

"Eren" was the first word to escape Mikasa's mouth as she firmly grasped his hand with both of hers. "What kind of horrible things did they do to you? Did they poke around or harm your body? They didn't torture you, did they?"

Nap examined the rest of the squad as Mikasa fawned over her adoptive brother. Most of the faces in the crowd were ones that he had not expected to see. In addition to Mikasa and himself, four other members of the top ten graduates were present among the new members of the Survey Corps, along with a surprisingly large group of trainees from outside of the top ten.

"Don't tell me all of you joined the Survey Corps?" Eren asked incredulously.

"Why else would we all be here?" answered Connie.

"I see at least a few of us did what I had expected." Nap knew of three other trainees from whom he had received very clear signals about their intentions. "Annie, Jean, and Langston are the only ones who joined the Military Police, I guess."

"Not exactly."

Neither he nor Eren had heard the footsteps of the sixth-ranked graduate in their class until Jean was right on their heels, so his statement caught Nap by surprise.

"No way…" was Eren's simple reaction.

"Did you tell him about Marco?" Jean's question was directed at Nap, who only nodded.

"That's good. I would have hated breaking that kind of news to someone like you, Eren."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eren asked in an accusatory tone. "You were his best friend, right? You should want to honor his death."

"There was nothing honorable about his death." The sandy-haired boy from Trost clenched his fist tightly. "Hell, no one even knows how he died. No one saw him. No one noticed. Apparently not everyone gets to go out with a bang."

"Hey, recruits!" Dita Ness broke through the stench of sorrow that polluted the air. "Gather round! Your uniforms have arrived!"

The Squad Leader stood next to another soldier from the Survey Corps, Luke Siss, who held a stack of green cloaks just like the ones that Nap and Eren already wore. All conversation was abandoned as the new recruits lined up in front of Ness and one by one received the very symbol of their membership in their new regiment.

"This thing seems a little impractical to me", complained Miranda as she played with the edges of her cloak. "I mean, what if it gets caught in a branch or grabbed by a Titan?"

"If you're worried about either of those things happening, maybe you chose the wrong branch of the military", Ness retorted. Making sure that the whole lot of them had donned their new uniforms, he called them into formation.

Nap stared up and down the line at the wings that were emblazoned on the backs of each of his friends. If he closed his eyes, he could see two additional black-haired figures standing in line with the others.

"This is our life now", he said to Eren as Ness barked out instructions to the rest of the new recruits. "We've put all of our faith in you. There's no going back."

_Survey Corps, Year 850_

The bell tower that rose high over the city of Karanes let out a chime for all the world to hear as the Survey Corps prepared to go beyond the walls once more. Nap had taken his place directly behind Eren as he and Captain Levi sandwiched the Titan shifter from the front and back. Leanne, Eld, Gunther and Auruo formed a rectangle around the boy from Shinganshina, creating what was truly the safest place for him within the long-range scouting formation that the Commander had worked so hard to create.

Nap tried desperately to clear his head as the front gate of Karanes gradually rose into the air. He would need to be at the top of his game during the expedition. The other members of the Levi Squad were counting on him, as were the rest of the Scouts, and all of humanity in a way. Everything was on his shoulders, and that was exactly what he lived for.

He had spoken privately with Mikasa after he and Eren met with the other members of their class, and he had apologized sincerely for the way he acted the last time the two of them had met. Nap had not gone into great detail about the discovery that Hange had made on the previous day, but Mikasa had willingly accepted his apology and that had been that.

Over a month had gone by since Nap discovered his true nature. He still had no idea what originally caused him to shift between human and Titan form, but with the assistance of Hange, Eren and the rest of the Special Ops Squad, he had grown used to his abilities and the mental burden that came with them. Following the incident that resulted in Petra's injury, Eren had experienced no issues controlling his Titan body around Nap. Though this fact in itself was suspicious, Nap could think of no logical explanation, so he let it go.

As his horse pawed impatiently at the ground, the memory of Nap's first visit to Karanes came to his mind. That thought led directly into images of Mina that blew through his brain like leaves in the wind. He hadn't truly realized until that point how much his life had changed in just over a month.

Mina was gone forever. Langston had chosen to join the Military Police. Even Annie, his oldest friend and the only person in the world with whom he was completely honest, had taken a different path.

All that Nap had left were the comrades that surrounded him and the memories of the ones that he would never see again. But more important than any of them, he had himself. He would not fail in his quest. It was his destiny to be a great hero, after all.

"Move out!" yelled Commander Erwin as his horse raised its legs into the air. With that, the 57th expedition beyond the walls began.

_Leanne and Petra, Year 845_

Why couldn't she cry?

The Titans had broken through the gate of her home town. They had taken everything from her and left her with just her own pitiful life. She hadn't even been there to see it happen, or to try and save the people that she loved.

She had lost the world, but she still couldn't bring herself to shed a tear.

"Leanne, I'm sorry…"

Petra approached her tentatively from behind. Leanne had taken a seat on a fallen tree near the edge of the forest that surrounded their new training ground. They had been forced to move within Wall Rose following the attacks by the Colossal and Armored Titans, and the scenery was just one more thing that was unfamiliar to Leanne.

Her best friend of two years sat down next to her. Neither one of them said another word for an amount of time that seemed both infinite and nonexistent at the same time. Leanne began to wonder if time even mattered at that point.

The deaths of her loved ones hadn't brought about the sadness that Leanne had expected. Yes, she mourned the losses of their lives, but the sorrow was quickly replaced by an all-consuming rage that had been building up inside her ever since.

"I'll kill them all."

Petra looked up at her. Leanne was staring straight ahead, barely paying any attention to her closest companion.

"What do you-"

"I'll kill every last one of them."

Leanne rose swiftly to her feet and thrust her hand out toward the nearest tree trunk. She grasped the soft bark in her hand and felt it crumble beneath her fingers.

"I swear, Petra, on the graves of every single person that those filthy monsters have ever taken away from us... I'll kill every last Titan in this world."


	13. 57th Expedition Pt 1: Plot Twist

_Leanne, Year 846_

She followed her instincts and ducked, narrowly avoiding the hand of a Titan as it passed quickly over her head. Turning on her heels, Leanne swung over to the building on the opposite side of the street where Auruo was already positioned. She landed awkwardly next to her fellow rookie and checked her blades, making sure that they were ready to slice and dice.

Their first mission as members of the Survey Corps had led them to an old city not too far outside of the Trost District. It had only been a year since the place was abandoned following the attack on Wall Maria, and Leanne's new regiment was bent on reclaiming as much of the land as they possibly could.

Leanne surveyed their immediate surroundings and noticed a Titan bearing down on another member of the Scouts who had been knocked out of the air and was trying to crawl away.

"Brendan!" she yelled in a bloodthirsty rage as she impulsively launched herself into the air, with Auruo following begrudgingly. She set her sights on the Titan and prepared to strike at its weak spot as it attempted to devour Brendan.

Before she reached her destination, her heart stopped as her leg was grabbed by the hand of an unnoticed Titan. She nearly choked on her tongue as her momentum was abruptly halted, and she yelled and flailed madly while the smiling beast dragged her to its open mouth.

Leanne Fawkes was going to die. Just like that, on her very first mission, before she had been able to accomplish anything. The girl who had made a vow to kill every last Titan was going to be eaten without even taking down a single one.

The Titan dropped her, feet-first, into its gaping maw, preparing to swallow her whole. Thinking quickly, Leanne jabbed one of her still-functional blades into the monster's tongue before she disappeared down its throat. She gradually clawed her way up, reaching out toward daylight with her left hand as she refused to embrace death while covered from head to toe with disgusting Titan saliva.

She screamed in agony as the Titan chomped down, severing the ring finger on her hand. Blood sprayed from the wound as her finger fell into the creature's belly, but she did not falter, and continued to fight her way toward freedom. Just as she reached out once more, her right hand slipped off of her operating device and she began to fall toward the Titan's stomach.

Only an instant before she disappeared into the purgatorial abyss of the monster's belly, she felt the welcome touch of a hand as it wrapped itself around her own and gripped it tight.

Leanne looked up into the wincing face of Auruo as he valiantly held the Titan's mouth open with one of his blades and reached down toward her with his free arm. The look in his eyes was one that she had never thought she would see from the unassuming boy from her trainee class.

"What the hell are you doing?" She turned her head away from him to yell this question, so as to avoid a mouthful of drool from the Titan.

"Saving your life!" he yelled back at her. With that, Auruo put on a show of almost superhuman strength, swinging Leanne up by her arm and tossing her out onto the roof below. She landed in a pile of Titan spit that would have made her puke if not for the situation at hand.

The stump of her finger was still bleeding, and she was sure that she had sprained at least one of her ankles, but making matters even more dire, Auruo was now alone in the mouth of the Titan, reaching out a single hand toward her as the blade in his other hand barely kept the roof of its giant mouth from shutting him in forever.

She extended an arm out toward him and barely grasped his outstretched hand. It would be a difficult task to pull him out quickly enough to avoid the snapping jaws of the Titan, because as soon as his blade came out from between its teeth, any part of him that remained in the creature's mouth would be severed like Leanne's finger.

Leanne was saved from having to attempt such a maneuver when a dark green blur from the edge of her field of vision preceded a geyser of gushing blood from the Titan's neck. With the enemy now dead, Auruo leapt from its mouth and landed on the roof next to her, nearly slipping in the fluid that covered the area around them.

"Who is that?" Leanne wondered softly as the green blur took the shape of a human on the opposite roof.

"You don't know Levi?" Auruo asked incredulously. "Considering he's only humanity's strongest soldier, I would think he'd have more fame than that."

"I guess I don't get out much", she replied, trying to shake the searing pain out of her hand. "Listen, about what you did for me just now, I want to say-"

"Leanne! What happened?"

The two greenhorns followed the sound of Petra's voice as she came down on the same roof, blades in hand and cloak flapping in the wind.

"Petra, it's so good to see you!" Leanne was filled with joy at the sight of a face that just a few moments ago she thought she would never see again. The events of the past few minutes hadn't truly hit her until she saw her best friend. If Auruo hadn't pulled her out of that Titan's mouth, she never would have been able to speak to Petra, or anyone else, for all of eternity.

"It's good to see you too", Petra replied. "But why are you all wet?"

"I still can't believe it myself, but I-"

"She almost got swallowed by a Titan", Auruo interrupted before Leanne could get into her story. "Then, out of nowhere, Captain Levi showed up and saved her. He was really amazing."

Leanne was shocked that Auruo hadn't immediately taken credit for saving her life. Perhaps his feelings for Petra were truly genuine after all.

"Are you serious?" Petra's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Leanne was overwhelmed at first by the hug that she received from Petra. She slowly leaned into it and returned the affection with a rub on the back. She cast a glance back toward Auruo, who only grinned and nodded.

She also noticed a wet spot that didn't come from the Titan saliva.

"Petra…" Leanne backed up a few steps and looked up and down her closest friend's body before becoming fixated on her groin. "I think you might have had a small accident."

The shorter girl yelped as she too noticed the dampness seeping across her white pants. She covered herself in shame as Leanne began to laugh at her misfortune.

"I can't believe this!" Leanne cackled jubilantly. "I'm the one who almost got eaten, and even I at least had the self control to not wet my pants!"

"Stop it!" Petra's face grew as red as Leanne's hair. She tried her hardest to hide both her wet spot and her embarrassed expression at the same time.

Leanne's emotions had gone from one extreme to another. Not even five minutes ago, she had been in the mouth of a Titan, struggling to so much as stay alive. And yet here she was, fooling around with her friends as if nothing had changed since their trainee days. In her quest for revenge against the Titans that had taken her family and her home away from her, she had lost the moments that truly made her life worth living. Never again would she let that happen.

"Imagine if Auruo had been the one to save me instead of Levi", Leanne jokingly changed the subject. "It would have been some crazy plot twist, that's for sure."

_Langston and Hitch, Year 850_

"Come on, don't tell me he's gone already!"

Hitch had whined incessantly throughout their little errand, so it was only natural that she would do the same once they arrived at their destination to find Caleb Lynch missing in action.

"I don't get it." Langston rubbed his shaved head. "He told us to report back to him as soon as we delivered it, so why would he just disappear like that?"

"This totally sucks", Hitch complained as she plopped down in one of the comfortable-looking chairs in Lynch's office. "We did all that work, and now we have to wait for that lazy bum Lynch to show up just so we can give the report to him."

"I never thought I'd hear you calling someone else a lazy bum, Hitch." Langston laughed softly to himself. "At least, not in an unironic sense."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm as unmotivated as they come", the sandy-haired girl quickly corrected him. "But there are things I'd rather be doing than waiting for our boss to come tell us off."

Hitch had quickly taken a liking to the shy boy from the southern branch of the 104th, though it was admittedly more due to his looks than his personality. Even so, she knew that he had been one of the few friends that her roommate, Annie, made back in her trainee days, and so she forced herself to at least make a small effort to get to know him.

"Hey, I've got a question I need to ask you, baldie."

"Sure, what is it?" He tried his best to keep the apprehension out of his voice. Langston Stendahl had never been the type of person to make friends easily, and the way Hitch spoke to him so informally was something that he had not gotten used to. Still, he found that he didn't mind as much when it came from someone like her.

"Is Annie always as antisocial as she acts around us?" asked the girl from the north, leaning back in Lynch's chair. "Isn't there anything she enjoys doing?"

"That's a good question." Langston fought to keep from losing himself in Hitch's devilish eyes. "I'm probably not the best person to ask about that. Even though Annie and I saw a lot of each other as trainees, we really weren't the closest of friends."

"What do you mean you weren't close?" Hitch exploded forward, now leaning toward Langston as he sat opposite her. "I thought you two hung out all the time."

"Yeah, we did, but there really wasn't much to that." He shook his head slightly. "We just had a couple of mutual friends, that's all. I don't think we ever had any one-on-one time."

"You sure are lame", she remarked playfully, returning to her more comfortable position. "Now, you said you had some mutual friends, right? Was one of them named Mina?"

"How'd you know?" Langston inquired with more than a touch of surprise in his voice.

"Annie says that name in her sleep almost every night. She also talks a lot about taking naps, and she says 'woosh' like it's going out of style. It's seriously an annoying habit."

"Is that so?" He smiled at the thought that Annie still cared for their lost friend. "I guess she and I have more in common than I thought."

"You know, this got boring pretty fast." Hitch rose sluggishly from her seat and reached inside of her jacket, removing the folder that contained their report.

"We're just going to leave that for Captain Lynch?" Langston asked, unsure of her plan. "If he comes back and we're not here, he might get angry."

"Nah, he probably doesn't care one way or the other", she responded, brushing off his inherent skepticism and placing the report on Caleb Lynch's desk. "Come on, if we hurry we can get back in time for lunch. I'm sure Marlowe will be real sad if I'm not there."

"Yeah, I suppose he would be", agreed Langston jokingly, following Hitch out of the office and doing everything in his power to not stare at her from behind.

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

Nap looked puzzledly at the black signal flare that rose into the sky somewhere far off to his right. A black flare was a sign that an aberrant had been spotted heading straight toward the center of the formation, which would mean that the soldiers closest to it would have to engage the enemy while disadvantaged on flat terrain.

"Hey, Captain", he called out to the man who had once cut his hair for him. "What happens if that aberrant reaches us? Do we fight it, or just keep moving?"

"Don't bother, Napoleon", Levi answered without even turning his head. "Our job is to continue riding and let everyone else deal with the dirty work, so that's that."

The answer was pretty much what Nap had expected. As soon as the Survey Corps passed through the old city at the foot of Wall Rose, they had fanned out into the long-range scouting formation that Commander Erwin devised. The Special Ops Squad, consisting of himself, Captain Levi, Auruo, Gunther, Eld, Leanne, and Eren, was stationed in what was supposed to be the safest part of the formation. He found it ironic that their elite force was placed so far away from the threats that surrounded them, and he thought of his fellow rookies, who were likely facing them at that very moment. There was one face in particular that couldn't escape his mind.

_Miranda, Year 850_

"Woohoo, nice kill!"

Miranda cheered and applauded from the back of her horse as she watched her Squad Leader, Dita Ness, take down an aberrant in cooperation with his partner, Luke Siss. She had been secretly hoping that the Titan made it to her area so as to give her a chance to kill it, but she had had no such luck. The long ride from Karanes had grown very boring very quickly.

From her spot in the second column of the formation, it was Miranda's job to relay signal flares as well as look after the spare horse that ran alongside hers. She had been told that it was unlikely that she would see any Titans come her way, which meant that she wouldn't be able to have nearly as much fun as she had hoped.

Her attention was stolen away from the two soldiers and the fallen Titan by another large figure approaching from the same direction. It was undoubtedly another aberrant that was running straight toward the area where it could do the most damage, and Miranda hoped against all odds that Ness and Siss would give her the chance to fight it. It would at least be a small silver lining in the midst of a very dull afternoon.

As the Titan approached, she noticed the unique traits that it possessed, some of which she hadn't seen on any of the other Titans she'd faced in Trost. First and foremost were the distinctly feminine features that the Titan boasted. Miranda immediately grew jealous of the giant pair of breasts that adorned its chest, and its long hair and wide hips gave it a look that was unlike all but one other Titan that she had laid eyes upon.

Miranda didn't have time to study the Titan any further, because at that moment it sped up out of nowhere and began sprinting at a breakneck pace toward Ness and Siss. The two men barely had a moment to react before the Titan was upon them, running directly between their horses.

Quickly getting over her earlier boredom, Miranda fired her second black flare into the sky. Even the other aberrants that she had encountered were not nearly as fast as this one.

Just seconds after she launched her flare, she watched the soldiers to her right as they propelled themselves into the air in an attempt to fight the feminine Titan. Luke Siss fired a hook directly into the creature's neck and took off, raising his blades in preparation.

Her eyes barely had time to follow the Titan's hand as it reached upwards and crushed Siss like a pathetic insect.

Miranda's shock continued to snowball as she watched the Titan grab hold of the wire that Ness had launched into its neck. The Female Titan proceeded to brutally swing the helpless man into the ground, killing him instantly.

"Holy shit", was all she managed to utter.

There was barely time for Miranda to recover herself before the Titan began to sprint once again in her direction. The creature that she had been hoping to face was now an unwelcome sight as she urged her horse to continue onward.

"So, I guess that settles it." Miranda may have acted the part at times, but she was no fool. Not only had she just witnessed this Titan protect its own weak spot, but it had also killed Siss and Ness without eating them, something that a regular Titan would never do. This knowledge did its part to calm Miranda down, as she grinned once more.

"This bitch is a Titan just like Eren", she said to herself. "And just like our Armored and Colossal buddies too, I'd assume."

Her devious grin spread across her face like a plague.

"And, for that matter, just like me."

Miranda began to think rationally again. Looking back at the oncoming Titan, she released her hold on the reigns of the horse to her left.

"Get out of here, Jean!" she yelled at it.

The animal that she had affectionately named after her fellow former trainee galloped away, barely avoiding the gigantic feet of the Female Titan as it closed in on Miranda.

"I guess it's now or never." She shook her head and quickly prepared her Maneuver Gear for battle as she felt the force of the Titan's mighty footsteps, which were now directly to her rear.

"If this bitch is trying to attack our formation, that must mean…" Miranda didn't cease her soliloquy, even as she jumped off the back of her horse and launched one of her hooks into the muscular arm of the Female Titan.

"That's right. She's gotta be after the thing that Old Man Reiss was obsessed with getting back", she said to herself while she swung through the air.

"She's after the Coordinate, which means Eren must have it. I'll admit, that's rather convenient."

_Katya, Year 850_

Taking a page out of her Commander's playbook, Katya had begun carrying a flask with her at all times as soon as she had received her promotion.

She snuck a quick sip from it as she stood atop Wall Rose, the rest of her squad going about their business behind her. Katya had always been a rather heavy drinker, but her reasons for consuming alcohol had changed since the victory in this same city, just over a month earlier.

The Garrison still had lots of work to do in order to restore Trost to the same state that it had been in before the Titans invaded, but Katya was optimistic that she and her rookies were up to the task. She had been impressed with the four members of her squad so far, and it was clear that they had been trained well by Keith Shadis.

Casting a glance back toward the newbies that she was responsible for, she caught sight of Victor and Hilde sharing a laugh when they should have been repairing one of the mounted cannons along with Jericho. The two of them quickly noticed their superior's disapproving look.

"Get back to work, you morons", Katya scolded them, making sure to use as much tough love as was necessary. "It's bad enough that we're a man short. I don't need the two of you goofing off."

Victor and Hilde apologized and returned to their job. Katya took another drink, this time for a much different reason than before.

_Miranda, Year 850_

"That sure wasn't very nice of her." Miranda rubbed her sore head, looking back toward the Female Titan as it left her in its dust. "She knocked me out of the air, trampled my horse, and then left me stranded here. Talk about rude."

She hadn't been able to put up much of a fight against the human in the Titan's body, but with the knowledge that she possessed she had at least been able to survive the encounter. However, she had been left in the open with no horse, and her Maneuver Gear would only get her so far. All she could do was hope for someone else to come along with a spare horse.

"Miranda!"

Her prayer was answered far more quickly than she had expected when Bertolt Hoover appeared like a knight in dark green armor.

"Bertl? You're a sight for sore eyes", she said as she pulled herself up and dusted herself off.

"What… Happened here?" Bertolt wasn't the most socially inclined of her comrades, but he at least showed concern for her if nothing else.

"Boy, would you like to know." Miranda hastily mounted the horse that Bertolt had been escorting, and urged it onward in pursuit of the Female Titan.

"I saw the flare... So it's an aberrant?" Bertolt asked as he rode alongside her.

"I bet you wish it were that simple", she joked as the Titan appeared to slow a bit. She laughed gleefully, if only a bit maniacally. "Are you ready to have the time of your life, or what?"

Bertolt looked at her quizzically, causing the smile to fade from her face.

"You know, you're really not a whole lot of fun to be around, Bertl."

Miranda's attention was redirected away from her less-than-pleasant conversation by the unmistakeable sound of a flare gun going off only a few meters to her rear. She turned her head to lay eyes on the majestic stallion who had come to save her from her dreary predicament.

"Jean!" she screamed ecstatically. "You finally showed up for our date!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked the boy from Trost as he rode toward the two other soldiers in front of him.

The three rookies once again had their attention shift from the present issue when several more flares were launched into the sky toward their right. These flares were all yellow, signaling that the soldiers on the right flank could not complete the mission.

"Damn, they got hit that hard?"

"The enemy detection units on the right flank were all but wiped out", Jean explained, managing to catch up with his comrades. "A whole crapload of Titans showed up all at once. I don't even know how it happened, but apparently there were a lot of fast ones." He scowled in a way that made Miranda unbearably aroused. "They're fending off the Titans for now, but it's impossible for them to keep up with the mission. They might not even make it back alive."

"That'd sure be a bummer." Miranda dressed herself in a pouty face for a few seconds before a thought came to her mind that caused her brow to lower itself.

"Now that I think of it, that bitch up ahead came from the right flank. If she's really a Titan working with our Armored and Colossal friends, it might be possible that she led them here."

"That one?" Jean focused for the first time on the Titan with the enormous rear end. "You're saying that it's not just a simple aberrant?"

"You'd like to think that, but you'd be wrong", she replied. "She's a person in a Titan's body, similar to our old pal Eren."

Jean's jaw dropped so far that it became even more difficult for Miranda to distinguish him from the horse upon which he rode.

"Why… Why do you think that?" asked Bertolt, who still hadn't heard a full account of the events that had transpired involving the Female Titan.

"Titans are all about eating people, right?" Miranda asked rhetorically. "That's one of the most basic things we know about them. So, it wouldn't make any sense if a Titan deliberately decided to kill someone without eating them. That would be totally against their nature."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Jean asked, practically astounded.

"I sure am, my love", she replied with a smirk. "Not only did this bitch kill Ness and Siss without even trying to eat them, but it also knew exactly where its own weak point was, and did just about everything it could to protect it. It was trying to kill them, not eat them."

Miranda paused for a few seconds, to let the information sink in.

"Plus, I just refuse to believe that any normal Titan can have an ass like that."

"What's its goal, then?" inquired Jean impatiently. "Is it trying to wipe us all out by itself?"

"Don't be silly, Jean-boy." She bathed herself in the sheer unhappiness that plastered itself upon his face. "It came here with a purpose, and that's probably why it's heading toward the front of the right flank. That's where Eren is, after all."

"Is that seriously what you were told?" The questions did not stop coming from Jean. "I thought Eren was with the Levi Squad, somewhere toward the rear of the left flank."

"I had the same information as you, Miranda", agreed Bertolt.

"That's all well and good, but it doesn't really confirm anything." She looked up toward the sky as if it contained the answer she was looking for, appearing uncharacteristically serious. "I wonder why Jean's information is different from ours. The only way it would make any sense is if Eren were somewhere else, and not in either of those places."

"If he's not… Eren's not in either of those spots… Where is he?"

"You're certainly a curious guy, Bertl", replied the girl with the dark brown bangs. "Now, if I were Eren Jaeger, where would I be?" Miranda didn't expect a response from either of them, so she continued dramatically. "There's only one place where our friend Erwin would have felt safe placing Eren, and that's near the rear of the center, if I'm right."

"That doesn't help us at all", Jean growled in a manner that nearly caused her to swoon. "It'll be impossible for us to let the others know how dangerous she really is by relying on our flares. Sooner or later, she's gonna reach the command unit, and then we're toast."

"What are you getting at?" asked Miranda.

"I'm saying we've got no choice but to fight her head-on", he responded. "If nothing else, we can buy enough time for the rest of the formation to get far ahead of her."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" She hadn't thought of her love interest as someone who cared so much about the fate of the team. "That bitch isn't going to hold back. She crushed Ness and Siss like they were insects, and she almost did the same to me."

"Is that so?" Jean grinned like a madman while sweat covered his forehead. "I'm shaking in my boots. I guess that settles it, then."

"That's not something I expected to hear from you", Miranda said as the three of them drew ever closer to the Female Titan's shaking booty. "I'll be honest with you, Jean-boy. If Bertl wasn't being a lame old third wheel, I'd tear your clothes off right now."

"If you weren't so dysfunctional, I'd probably go along with that." Jean gripped the reigns of his horse tightly. "I don't get you, Miranda. But then again, I don't really plan to."

"And here I was expecting some dramatic speech." She giggled and rolled her eyes. "It looks like you haven't gone full Eren just yet. Now, follow my lead."

Miranda pulled up the hood of her green cloak, as did Jean and Bertolt soon after.

"If she thinks there's even the slightest possibility that one of us is Eren, she'll be careful not to kill us", explained the girl who held more secrets than she could possibly stand.

"It seems like you're as capable as I originally thought, Invisible Soldier", Jean said with an approving smile. "Now, how about we skin this bitch alive?"

_Armin, Year 850_

He saw the flare coming from somewhere ahead of him, and reached down to retrieve one of his own. His place in the fourth column of the formation was toward the rear, and he had yet to encounter a single Titan during the expedition.

Armin Arlert's luck in that department ran out very quickly.

Soon after the yellow smoke around him dissipated, a towering column of black smoke rose into the sky, coming from a place ahead of him and to the right. That was the location where Squad Leader Brendan had been stationed, but if the right flank had indeed been wiped out, like he had hypothesized, then that would have meant…

"Armin!" His eyes widened as Abigail Frauke burst through the trees, riding swiftly away from the direction that the flare had come from. "Get ready! There's not much time!"

"Not much time?" Armin asked, still in a state of mild shock. "You mean-"

He wasn't even able to finish his thought before a six-meter class aberrant burst through the same trees that Abigail had passed by only seconds earlier. Armin urged his horse to stop in its tracks as the Titan barrelled right past the two rookies and toward the center of the formation.

"It'd probably be a good idea to take care of that thing", Abigail suggested, scowling with her one good eye. "If it reaches the center, we're as good as finished."

"It doesn't look as fast as most other aberrants", he observed. "We can probably catch up to it on horseback fairly easily."

"What are we waiting for, then?" With just about the least ladylike grunt that she could give, Abigail spurred her horse onward and made a move to follow the advancing Titan.

"I'll try to take out its ankle and stop its movement", said Armin as he exchanged his yellow flare for a black one and fired it. "That should give you a chance to go in for the kill."

"There's no need for that." Abigail waved him off. "I've got as good a shot as any if I just go straight for the nape. It's ignoring us, after all."

Armin narrowed his eyes as he stared straight ahead at the Titan. Its movements looked sluggish, and it almost seemed to be growing tired.

"Are you sure you can do it?" he asked skeptically. Abby hadn't finished in the top ten of their class, but she was still undoubtedly a quality soldier. Armin's only concern was the fact that she had yet to fight without the use of her second eye.

"I might as well try", she replied with an Eren-like grin. "I never got to take down one of these bastards in Trost. This is as good an opportunity as I'm ever gonna get to make my first kill."

"Okay, I trust you." Armin clenched his teeth. If things got hairy, he would have to move quickly to back her up. He only hoped that they were both up to the task.

"Well then, wish me luck." Abigail winked at him and gradually assumed a standing position atop her horse, adjusting her body so that she could aim for the oblivious Titan's neck.

As she fired her hooks toward the creature, Armin was surprised at how well she was able to aim with only one eye. Abigail's strike form was perfect as well, and she easily sliced through the Titan's weak spot, ending its life in textbook fashion.

Her work complete for the time being, Abigail dropped gracefully to the ground as the lifeless giant fell flat on its face behind her. Armin met up with her, escorting her own horse as he did.

"Impressive, huh?" she asked proudly.

"No kidding." Armin reached the point where she had landed and released the reigns of her horse, allowing her to mount it once again. He surveyed the land around him in order to get his bearings. Their encounter with the Titan may have put them slightly behind schedule.

It wasn't long before Armin noticed something out of place.

"Is that… A person?" he wondered to himself before directing his horse toward the figure that lay on the ground to his right.

"Did you find something?" Abigail asked as her horse wandered in the same direction.

Armin's eyes widened in horror when he finally recognized the dead body of Dita Ness. His mangled remains had been lying in a pool of blood for only a short time, but it was clear to both of them that he had died instantly upon being slammed into the ground.

"Do you think a Titan did this?" came a second consecutive question from the one-eyed girl.

"That's not possible." He pulled back his lips and grimaced. There was only one explanation that he could think of, and it wasn't one that he was all too happy about.

"This isn't the work of a regular Titan. Ness was killed by a human in a Titan's body."

"Really?" Abigail asked disappointedly. "That's all? You had me worried for a second."

The short boy's eyes left the body of the Squad Leader and turned toward the even shorter girl.

"Abby…" Armin feared that she didn't fully understand what was going on. "You were out cold when Eren first appeared in his Titan form, but he was almost unstoppable. It took an entire horde of Titans to bring him down, and they say he killed at least fifteen of them by himself."

"You act like that's a big deal", Abby said confidently. "I just hope I get the chance to rip this Titan a new one like I did to that last bastard."

_Langston, Year 850_

"Sorry I took so long, guys", he said as he carefully sat himself down next to Hitch at the least-crowded table in the room.

"Just don't make a habit of it", she scolded. "You're the only respectable person I've met out of our entire rookie class, so it makes me look bad when you're not here."

"Why don't you two just kiss and make up?" asked Marlowe loathingly, taking a sip of the tea that they all had the privilege of drinking as members of the Military Police.

"Come over here and say that to my face next time!" Hitch shouted across the table, causing their superiors on the other side of the room to look up from their card game. Noticing this, she smiled sheepishly and waved as if to apologize for the trouble she had caused. If nothing else, the currently blushing Hitch was as good of a liar as anyone Langston had met, including Nap.

"I'd rather not get any closer to your face", Marlowe shot back after the coast was clear.

"I'll kick your ass, Freudenberg! It won't even be that hard!"

"That may be true, but I'm sure Langston knows of something else that's _very_ hard."

"Hey, maybe we should all try and get along", Langston pleaded, attempting to bridge the chasm between Marlowe and Hitch. "We're all in the same boat, right? Let's all play nicely together."

"It seems that playing nicely is an issue for you wherever you go, Langston."

He spun around as fast as was physically possible when he heard his sister's voice. From his seat next to Hitch, he stared up into Lara's face as she smiled curtly and raised a hand.

"Why don't you introduce me to your friends, little brother?"

"L-Lara…" he stammered. "What are you…"

"On second thought, I'm sure I have enough information already", she said, lowering her hand. "I only wanted to say hello, but that's clearly too much for my darling younger brother to handle, so I'll allow him to return to his meal."

"You're Langston's older sister, huh?" asked the girl next to him, her eyes wide as she stared at the beauty that was Lara Stendahl. "He never told me about you. I'm Hitch Dreyse, from-"

"I don't require an introduction from you", Lara cut her off in an ice-cold fashion befitting of one of the highest-ranking officers in the northern region. "As I was going to say to my brother, I'll be taking over as your supervisor here in Stohess on an interim basis."

"Our supervisor?" Langston questioned.

"That's correct", answered his sister. "It's a pity that I'll have to be away from my boyfriend for so long, but if we really are destined to be together, I suppose we'll make it work."

"What happened to Lynch?" The boy formerly known as Pyrite remained shellshocked.

"I wasn't told of the exact situation, but it appears as though Caleb is in rather deep trouble at the moment." Lara shook her head in pity. "Something about a drinking problem, or so I hear."

"If that's the case, I'm not sure you'd be much of an upgrade, sister."

"That's enough, Langston." Lara turned her back to him, her creamy brown locks twirling as she did so. "I'll be getting back to work now, but I want you to meet me in front of Caleb's old office in half an hour. We've got some catching up to do, little brother."

With those as her parting words, Lara walked away regally from a fuming Hitch and a still-awestruck Langston. As they turned back toward their food, the girl who had been interrupted gave the table a harsh pound with her fist.

"I can't believe her!" Hitch growled, completely ignoring the fact that she was insulting Langston's own sister. "Who does she think she is, cutting me off like that? That bitch!"

"You shouldn't get so angry, Hitch", advised Marlowe. "That's Captain Lara Stendahl. She's one of the highest-ranking officers under Commander Dock. I'm not even sure why she bothered to take up the position held by a lethargic man like Lynch, even on an interim basis."

"My sister never does anything without a good reason", said Langston, crossing his arms on the table. "If she's here, she must be planning something."

"That doesn't matter to me one bit." Continuing to fume, Hitch tore a piece of buttered bread in half. Oddly enough, such aggressive behavior did nothing to change Langston's opinion of her. "You know what annoys me the most, though? The fact that someone like you can be so calm."

Hitch wasn't talking to either Langston or Marlowe. Her comment was directed diagonally across the table, toward the girl who still had not spoken.

"Isn't there anything you'd like to say, Annie?"


	14. 57th Expedition Pt 2: Unnatural

_Nap and Annie, Year 846_

He grunted softly, landing a kick on her upper thigh before hopping back lightly on his feet. He followed it up with a punch that aimed straight for her chest, which she blocked easily, almost as if she had been the one to teach him the move.

She had, of course, been the one to teach him the move.

"You really thought you could get me with that?" Talking while fighting was among their primary forms of socialization. One of Annie's most enjoyable pastimes was beating his face in while gloating about it, as she did on that warm afternoon without Anka or Gustav's supervision.

"It was worth a shot", Nap replied, tiptoeing back to avoid a blow to the gut. "You're not on your game today, so I decided to test you."

"That's a bad idea and you know it." Annie remained on the offensive, and Nap continued to back up until a trademark leg sweep took him to the ground. He braced himself as his head hit the dirt, with Annie standing over him as she always did.

"Even when you're distracted, I can't beat you", Nap admitted, shaking himself off and sitting up.

"You're not exactly focused either." Annie lowered herself to the ground next to him and attempted to return her hair to its usual position. "What were you thinking about?"

Nap brushed his hair back and wiped his forehead, staring up at the sun as it gradually moved westward. His face reflected the disgust that he felt about the subject of his thoughts.

"Frogs."

"Frogs?" she asked, as if she hadn't heard him correctly.

"Frogs", confirmed Nap. "I hate them."

"What do you have against frogs?" Annie sounded substantially amused, as she did more and more often around her sparring partner.

"Where do I begin?" Nap sighed. "They're so slimy. It's disgusting. And the way they can survive both on land and in water… They seem almost unnatural to me."

"Unnatural…" Annie thought it over for a few moments. "If you stop to think about it from a frog's' perspective, maybe you and I are really the unnatural ones."

"That may be true", Nap considered. "Then again, a frog's opinion shouldn't matter to a human. We've beaten them, after all."

"Beaten them? What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Annie. There's only one creature in this entire world that humans haven't triumphed over. To everything else, we're the kings."

_Langston, Hitch, Marlowe, and Annie, Year 850_

"Isn't there anything you'd like to say, Annie?" asked a ticked off Hitch. "Why are you even here, anyway? You asked me to cover your shift for today so you could go do something super top secret, so why are you hanging around here still?"

"I had a change of plans." Annie didn't even bother to look her in the eye.

"That's a lame excuse. How could something so important just cancel at the last minute?"

"Maybe you should leave her alone, Hitch", Langston suggested halfheartedly.

"What are you, her boyfriend?" the unpleasant girl shot back. "You sound just like Boris. You know, she's not the only one who's got a hard life. What about me, huh?"

"You've got a point", Marlowe chimed in. "You certainly do make life hard for all of us."

Langston chuckled slightly at Marlowe's roast of Hitch. The entertainment provided by their bickering, along with the unexpected appearance of his sister, had almost gotten Langston to forget about the fact that the Survey Corps had begun their expedition beyond the walls. He could not help but feel guilty as he thought of all of the friends from his trainee class who were outside the walls at that very second, risking their lives. Some had probably died already.

He could only try to convince himself that he had made the right choice.

_Miranda, Jean, and Bertolt, Year 850_

"It seems like you're as capable as I originally thought, Invisible Soldier", Jean said with an approving smile. "Now, how about we skin this bitch alive?"

"You sure are speaking my language, babe." Miranda returned his grin as the three soldiers on horseback closed in on the Female Titan, who appeared to be losing steam rather quickly.

"Do you think maybe… She's getting tired?" Bertolt's question came in an uncharacteristically loud voice, so that he was sure to be heard over the Titan's thunderous footsteps.

"You've got as good of an idea as I do, Bertl", answered Miranda. "But we should probably hurry. There's no telling when she'll speed up again."

"What are we waiting for, then?" yelled Jean as he and Bertolt spread out, their horses carrying them along on either side of the Female Titan.

"Right." The girl in the center of their makeshift formation raised one finger on her left hand. "Just like we drew it up, guys. Let's go."

The three new members of the Survey Corps prepared to do everything in their power to distract the formidable Titan shifter in order to give the others time to get away from her. Miranda knew the general strengths and weaknesses of this new foe, but she also knew that the Female Titan had still not shown them her true power. In all likelihood, there were only three soldiers in the entire regiment skilled enough to face this beast head-on, not including Miranda herself and her fellow Titan shifter, Eren. But she would only reveal her power if the situation truly grew dire, so she was forced to hope against hope that the three of them could make it out of there alive.

After giving nods toward her compatriots, she lowered her hand and took hold of her second operating device. She pulled out both of her blades and leapt from her horse, as Jean and Bertolt copied her movements like they were mirror images of her.

She had planned to attack the Titan's weak spot at the nape of the neck, while the other two aimed for the tendons on her ankles in order to slow her down. Even if this was a human in a Titan's body, Miranda knew there was no way in hell that she would be able to defend all three locations at the same time. If the bitch tried to protect her neck against Miranda's strike, then Jean and Bertolt would be able to make clean hits on her legs without any opposition.

Miranda's confidence began to waver when the Female Titan leapt into the air, causing Jean and Bertolt's hooks to bounce harmlessly off the ground beneath her feet, and athletically spun around in midair, taking Miranda along for the ride.

While she knew her stomach would kill her as soon as her body calmed down, Miranda hung on for dear life and prepared her blades for a strike. On the ground below her, the two boys, who had failed to latch onto the Titan's legs, barely managed to avoid her feet as she landed.

"This one's for my horse, you bitch!" Miranda half shouted and half yodelled as she closed in on the Female Titan's body, pulling back her twin flesh-paring blades and propelling herself toward the weak point at the nape of the neck. She reached the spot as the Titan regained her footing, and made a perfect swing at it that would have killed any normal Titan.

Except, as Miranda knew all too well, this wasn't any normal Titan.

"Oh, boy", she said disappointedly as the Titan's neck hardened into a crystal-like substance, shattering her blades with no effort at all. "That's not good."

Miranda was forced to quickly disengage herself from the Female Titan before the sentient beast could raise a hand to swat the location where she had just failed to make a kill. She felt the hair on the top of her head flutter in the gale-force winds caused by the Titan's decisive movements. With the help of her Maneuver Gear she lowered herself to the ground next to Bertolt, preparing to load up her next pair of blades, before she noticed Jean.

"What the hell is he trying to do?" she asked, not sure if Bertolt would be able to give her an appropriate answer. Miranda began to lose her composure as she witnessed Jean fire a single line into the small of the Titan's back and begin his ascent toward her formidable body.

She knew immediately that he stood absolutely no chance, but she could barely bring herself to move as she watched the situation in front of her unfold. Before Jean could get anywhere close to the monster that had once posed as a human, his wire was grabbed and yanked out of the Female Titan's body, sending him tumbling into the grass on the opposite side from where Miranda and Bertolt stood, unable to prevent the beast from making the preparations necessary to kill her prey once and for all.

The opportunity for Miranda to reload her blades and come to the rescue had passed. Even if she managed to do so, the Female Titan may have been able to sense her approach and harden her skin like she had done before. There was no way for her to save Jean in her human form, so all Miranda could do was bring her hand to her mouth like Eren did when transforming, as the despicable Titan in front of her raised her left hand and prepared to finish him off.

"Don't kill him!"

The Female Titan was about to bring down her hand on top of Jean when Miranda heard Bertolt yell for the first time since she met the quiet boy.

"If you promise not to kill him, I'll tell you where Eren is!"

"Bertl… What do you think you're doing?" Miranda asked incredulously, but he ignored her.

"I know you're looking for him", Bertolt called out once again, and the Female Titan was clearly listening intently. "We know where he is, and if you don't kill Jean, I'll tell you."

Miranda tensed in anticipation as the Titan with the smoking body lost any interest that it may or may not have had in killing Jean. The ground below the soldiers began to shake once more when the Titan approached Bertolt and showed him an absolutely terrifying smile.

"He's in the center column, toward the back", Bertolt told the Female Titan, not wavering even once as he sold out Eren in exchange for Jean's life.

Without acknowledging him any further, the human in the Titan's body turned away from the tallest boy from the 104th Trainee Corps and began jogging toward the center of the formation.

It took Miranda a few seconds to process what had happened. Jean was safe, and at that very second he himself was hustling back to the two of them. But the only reason he was alive was because Bertolt had given the Female Titan the location of her target. And the only reason he had known Eren's location was because she herself had figured it out.

"Hoover, you son of a bitch…"

_Langston and Lara, Year 850_

"This room is absolutely disgusting", Lara stated upon entering her new office for the first time, her brother trailing her and closing the door behind him.

"Captain Lynch isn't the most organized man in the world", commented Langston.

"You're certainly right about that." The boy's older sister removed her coat and placed it on the rack in the corner, which was arguably the cleanest item in Caleb Lynch's former base of operations. She took a seat behind the desk that now belonged to her, while Langston sat in the same chair that he had been in when he and Hitch talked earlier that same day.

"Is there a reason why I need to be here, or do you just want to use me as your punching bag some more?" Langston's attitude around his sister differed greatly from his attitude around any other human being that he had ever met. While he was shy and jumpy around strangers, and polite and encouraging around friends, he became irritated and impatient around Lara. She had always danced around important topics with him instead of spilling the truth.

"I'd like to think our relationship has grown a lot in the past five years", joked Lara, opening one of the drawers located in Lynch's old desk. "But I guess there's no pleasing you, little brother. Yes, there's a reason why I need you here, and it's one that'll knock your socks off."

Lara had been hoping that an alcoholic like Caleb Lynch would have left some quality drinks lying around, but she was disappointed to find out that he only carried cheap booze.

"Get to the point", Langston growled, not caring at all that he was speaking to a superior.

"If you insist." Lara gave in, reluctantly pouring herself a glass of something half-tolerable from Lynch's stash. "I want you to tell me everything you know about a girl named Annie Leonhardt."

_Miranda, Jean and Bertolt, Year 850_

She cringed as Jean began to whistle once more. He had yet to give up on his horse, which had been lost in the chaos caused by the Female Titan along with Bertolt's. As it stood, the three of them only had a single horse among them, which had originally been Bertolt's as well.

"Why'd you do it, Bertl?" Miranda inquired as she and the dark-haired beanpole stood several meters behind the spot where Jean called desperately for his mount.

"I had to act quickly", Bertolt said softly. "She was… I couldn't let her kill Jean."

"Oh well, I suppose you did us a favor in the end." She folded both her arms around the back of her head and stared toward the sky. Even if she had wanted to, she could not be mad at him. He had saved Jean's life, after all. "Eren's surrounded by a bunch of super awesome Titan slayers. Nap, Levi, and the rest of their squad can take out that bitch with no effort at all."

"Are you sure?" While he was one of the best all-around fighters in their group, Bertolt wasn't anywhere close to the most confident. "She beat us so easily… Can they really take her?"

"Don't get me wrong, the three of us are pretty good, but the Crimson Arrow's on a completely different level." Miranda had stubbornly stuck with the nickname that she had given Nap, hoping it would eventually catch on. "And I can't even begin to imagine how much of a badass Captain Levi is. That little man scares the crap out of me."

"I see." Bertolt let out a relieved sigh. "They're going to… Kill her."

"You know, we should really be focusing on what the hell we're going to do with only one horse", she suggested. "I'd rather be alone with my boyfriend, so you might be the odd man out, Bertl."

"Dammit!" Jean cursed, not paying any attention to the other two, and went back to whistling.

"Now that I think about it, though, that Titan bitch looked awfully familiar", Miranda remarked.

"You think so?" asked the boy next to her.

"Yeah, I can't put my finger on it, but she definitely reminded me of someone I know." She tried to place the Titan's mug among those of the people she had met in the last five years, but she continued to draw blanks. "If she's really a human in a Titan's body, she must have infiltrated our society. At the very least, there's no way she'd have been able to survive outside the walls for very long, especially if the Titans are super attracted to her like they are to Eren when he's in Titan form. But I just can't shake the feeling that I've seen her ugly face somewhere before."

"Maybe you're just… Imagining it?"

"I could be. She did hit me pretty good back there, so things are a little hazy. But I'm getting away from the subject at hand. We need to decide which one of us stays behind."

Jean finally turned back toward the two of them and ceased his fruitless pursuit.

"We might as well try shooting up a flare as a last resort", she continued. "Abby, Armin, and Christa should all be nearby. Maybe one of them will notice it."

"Sounds like a plan." Jean complied, sending up a purple flare that signaled an emergency. "I doubt that'll do us any good in a situation like this, but we'll see."

"Let's wait for a few minutes, and if no one shows up, you two can go on ahead without me", Miranda decided for the whole group.

"Are you crazy?" Jean yelled in her face. "You're not staying behind! You understand that you'd be nothing more than a sitting duck out here, right?"

"Aww, you're actually worried about me?" she teased. "Looks like someone's got a little crush."

"Miranda…" He shook his head as he looked at her. "Who the hell are you?"

"I think I see someone", Bertolt called out quietly, his hands shielding his eyes from the sun.

Jean and Miranda turned to look in the same direction, and immediately noticed exactly what Bertolt had seen. Someone was riding toward them with a single extra horse.

"I'll be damned", Miranda said with a short giggle. "Christa just does everything right."

Indeed it was the shortest graduate of the 104th Trainee Corps who rode toward the three stranded soldiers, escorting the spare horse that Miranda released when she had first been attacked by the Female Titan.

"Are you guys okay?" called the angelic Christa Lenz as she approached them.

"Jean, I'm so happy to finally see you again!" shouted the Invisible Soldier with joy.

"What are you talking about?" wondered the boy next to her. "I've been here the whole time."

"I'm not talking about you, silly", Miranda corrected him as she nuzzled the head of the horse that Christa had brought along with her.

"You… You named your horse after me?" Jean had thought that there was nothing Miranda could have done to surprise him anymore, but he had been dead wrong.

"I found him all alone, and he seemed really spooked", Christa explained. "But if there are only three horses, how will all four of us ride together?"

"Jean can ride me instead", Miranda quickly volunteered.

"Cut it out!" growled the embarrassed boy from Trost. "But no matter how disgusting you are, I have to agree. You and I can share a horse, and Bertolt and Christa will ride alone."

"It's a date, then", said Miranda excitedly before turning to acknowledge the girl whose secret she had figured out long ago. "You really showed us how brave you are, and now we owe you our lives. Thanks a bunch, Christa. You're pretty awesome."

"I just happened to be nearby when you sent up the flare", replied the Goddess of the 104th, playing it off like it was nothing. "I'm just glad none of you are hurt."

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"You heard him, Eld", Levi said as if he were half asleep. "Go take care of it."

"Roger that, Captain", responded the second-in-command of the Levi Squad. Eld left the rest of the group to relay the message that the search squad on the right flank had been wiped out.

It had been a while since Nap had seen any black flares to the right of the formation, and before that moment it appeared that everything was going smoothly. He and the rest of the Special Ops Squad hadn't encountered a single Titan, likely due to their place in the formation's rear center.

If the right flank had truly been wiped out, perhaps it had been due to the aberrant that the earlier flares signaled. And if that really was the case, perhaps that aberrant had not been alone. He knew that the one he cared most about was on the left side, but several of the other rookies were stationed toward the right, and the body language coming from the boy riding directly in front of him confirmed that Eren was thinking of that too.

"Relax, Eren", Nap said to him. "The Titans probably haven't made it to Armin's spot."

"Right, I figured the same thing", Eren agreed, turning around to nod at his friend.

Nap became a bit less sure of himself when three more towers of smoke rose toward the right of the formation. These ones were black, signaling the appearance of another aberrant.

"Napoleon, black flare, now", Levi barked out.

"Yes, sir", Nap replied, reaching down to load up his gun and covering an ear before firing a black-colored smoke round into the sky.

"You should prepare yourself, Nap." Leanne Fawkes directed her horse closer to his in order to speak quietly to him. "Whatever that thing is, it's headed straight for us."

"I'm ready for it, don't worry", he told her. "I wouldn't be a very good soldier if I couldn't stand up to a single Titan, no matter how strong it happens to be."

"That's not the only thing you should prepare for", she continued, pointing with the hand that contained her severed finger. "Just look at where we're headed. It's a forest of giant trees."

_Miranda, Jean, Bertolt, Christa, Armin, and Abigail, Year 850_

"Why are we stopping by this tourist attraction?" Jean voiced the question that the other five had all been thinking. "We need to either move on or turn back, not take a leisurely break."

By that point, Armin and Abigail had caught up with the other four rookies, and together they all made their way toward the forest of giant trees that Commander Erwin had directed their group to. None of them knew why, but these woods would be crucial to the expedition.

"I personally think this would be a great spot for you and me to come on our second date", noted Miranda as the two of them continued to share a horse. "Either way you look at it, this is Erwin's call, and we all know that he's a real smarty pants when it comes to this kind of thing."

"Maybe he's planning to throw us a welcome party." The boy sitting in front of her on the horse didn't appear to be enjoying their time together as much as she was.

"That's kind of a long shot, don't you think?" asked Armin.

"You may be a genius, Armin, but I'm not sure you understand sarcasm", remarked Abigail.

"It doesn't matter." Jean glared at the trees that they passed by. "That Titan bitch is still coming after us. If Commander Erwin doesn't realize that, we're probably heading to our deaths."

"He might be preparing to fight her in this forest", Miranda suggested before the six new members of the Survey Corps were stopped in their tracks by their superior, Brendan Kikkert.

"Halt!"

Miranda and the others dismounted and tied up their horses before hearing what the Squad Leader had to say besides this single word.

"From this point on, we're going into intercept mode", he explained. "We'll draw our blades and wait up in the treetops. No matter what you do, don't let any Titans enter the forest!"

"But… Squad Leader, why are we-"

"Keep quiet and follow orders!" Squad Leader Brendan interrupted Jean before ascending into the branches of a nearby tree with his Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear.

"Is he serious?" Jean wondered aloud. "What the hell is going on?"

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"Captain… Captain Levi?" Eren called out to the man in front of him.

"What is it?" Levi called back, annoyed.

"I just wanted to ask… Why are we in a forest?" Even from Nap's spot at the boy's rear, he could tell just how nervous Eren was. "If only the center column is in here, how will we be able to tell if there are Titans approaching us? If they're really coming from the right… How are we going to avoid them and protect the supply wagons at the same time?"

"You sure do whine a lot", the Captain commented. "We obviously can't do that anymore."

"What?" It wasn't as if Eren hadn't thought the same thing himself, but hearing it from Levi made it seem all the more real. "Then why?"

"I think I know what the Commander's reasoning is, Eren", Nap said, causing the Titan shifter to turn his head once more toward the boy with the Levi-approved haircut.

"What are you saying?" Eren inquired.

"He's talking about these tall-ass trees", Levi said impatiently.

"Exactly", confirmed Nap. "If we're going to fight, this is the ideal place to do it. Isn't that right?"

"I'd appreciate it if you would stop giving away the answer, Napoleon." Levi's voice carried a trace of disappointment mixed with annoyance. "Eren's not as smart as you, so he needs to learn to think for himself in a situation like this."

"Captain? I still don't understand", said a hopeless Eren.

"Just think about it." The Captain appeared to be on the verge of exploding with irritation. "Think with that sorry brain you have. Think real good if you want to survive."

Though Nap was a bit peeved at Levi's attitude, he understood the man's thought process. He and Eren were rookies who hadn't experienced life outside the walls like the others. Though the answer to this particular question had come naturally to him, it was unlikely that everything would, so he and his fellow newbie both needed to learn how to think like the other soldiers.

But to Nap's eye, the other soldiers didn't appear to be much better off. To his left and right, Eld and Gunther both wore looks that betrayed their inner anxiety, and he would have bet everything he owned that Leanne and Auruo felt the same way. It was quite possible that even Captain Levi himself was unaware of the true situation that they were facing.

Titans had wiped out the majority of the right flank, and they were headed toward the center at that very second. Of this much, Nap was certain. Because of this immediate threat, the Commander had sent the center column into the forest. But why just the center column?

Nap's train of thought was interrupted by another flare, a black one to their rear.

"That came from right behind us!" Gunther exclaimed.

"It must be the threat that's approaching from the right", deduced Eld.

Nap began to realize that the experienced soldiers understood more than he had given them credit for. They knew that whatever was coming for them was more formidable than any regular Titan, even more formidable than an aberrant.

They were being chased by a Titan just like Eren. No, if this thing had really wiped out the majority of the right flank, it must have been a whole lot stronger than Eren. But it was running right into a deathtrap consisting of six deadly assassins and one angry Titan.

"Everyone, draw your swords", Levi ordered. "When it shows itself, it'll just be for a second."

Nap followed his command, as did the five nervous soldiers surrounding him. It was likely that the Captain would tell them to switch to their Maneuver Gear as soon as the Titan showed up. The whole squad, except for Levi, looked behind them as their horses raced onward.

It happened just as the Captain had predicted. A single soldier burst through the trees on his Maneuver Gear, eyes gaping as he stared at whatever was chasing him. He drifted back, almost in slow motion, before it struck in the blink of an eye.

The soldier was ripped in half by a single destructive bite from a speedy blonde-haired Titan with one hand covering the nape of its neck.

Nap continued to stare up at the monstrous Female Titan as it ran at full speed toward the Levi Squad. The beast was significantly faster than any Titan that he had ever seen, even the crawling aberrants from back in Trost.

"Move it!" called Captain Levi, right before the Titan cut through another line of trees, nearly decapitating Nap with its left hand before it slid to a halt, only to resume the chase.

Turning away from their pursuer and urging his horse onward, Nap now looked toward Eren as his eyes grew three sizes.

"There's no way to run from it in this forest!" Gunther remarked as he too eyed the monster.

"It's gaining on us!" Eld added in a panicked voice.

"Shouldn't we be doing something, Captain?" shouted Leanne.

Levi ignored all three of them and continued to assess the situation at hand. The Female Titan was indeed gaining on them. As they rode, a pair of soldiers appeared behind her, only to be brutally slaughtered like the one before them.

"Are we going to do something about that bitch, Captain?" Leanne asked once more, in a slightly calmer but still rattled voice. "Or maybe I should take matters into my own hands."

"She's taking out our guys! Let's kill her right now!" Auruo yelled in agreement.

"We'll waster her!" growled Eld.

The Levi Squad wasn't simply talking a good game, and Nap was well aware of that fact. He still wasn't sure how he stacked up to the rest of the elite soldiers, but they were more than capable of working together to take care of this sassy lost child.

So why wasn't Levi doing anything?

"Captain Levi!" called Eren. He and the others continued to seek the attention of their leader as Nap desperately tried to figure out what was going through the Captain's mind. If their squad did nothing, their hands would be bloodied to an even greater extent as more and more soldiers met their ends against the Female Titan. There was no way Nap could let that happen.

He was about to speak his mind when Levi finally turned around decisively.

"Cover your ears, everybody."

Nap and the others barely had time to do so before he fired an acoustic round. The ringing sound caused by the shot still managed to echo in the ears of everyone present, including the Female Titan, who continued her heated pursuit.

"What do you think our objective is?" Levi asked his squad rhetorically after their ears had adjusted. "Are we supposed to act out on whatever whim we happen to have? Nope, that's not it. The only thing you should be worried about is protecting these two brats at all cost."

So that was it. Nap had trained with the Special Ops Squad and learned all of their most advanced maneuvers, but at the end of the day he was just another piece of cargo that they had been assigned to guard. He was disgusted by this revelation.

"We're going to continue on horseback", proclaimed the Captain. "Any questions?"

Five of the six squad members responded positively, but Eren remained unconvinced. "We're continuing? To where?" He turned back and looked past Nap at the threat that was still approaching just as quickly. "The Titan is right on our heels!"

Nap saw his eyes light up as two more men arrived from the rear as reinforcements.

"Keep looking forward, Eren!" Gunther appeared to have recovered from his earlier uneasiness.

"Just keep moving at top speed!" Eld had also gathered his composure.

"What's the point of running?" Nap spoke up for the first time since the Female Titan had appeared. "We're the only ones that can kill that thing. If we don't fight it, everyone else dies."

"Is that what you really think, Napoleon?" Levi questioned him as one of the two soldiers to their rear was smashed against the side of a tree.

"We could've saved him!" Eren exclaimed in a fit of grief. "We can still get there in time to save the other one! It's not too late!"

"Calm down and keep moving ahead!" yelled a ticked off Auruo.

If Nap had been somewhat unsure of Levi's methods earlier, he was now extremely skeptical. There was no way that someone with as much experience as the Captain would allow his fellow soldiers to be killed like sacrificial pawns without a good reason. If Levi really did know why their squad had been ordered to enter the forest, he should have trusted them with that information. Nap could think of no plausible excuse for keeping something like that from them. But then again, he was only there for his own protection. Why would he have to know anything important when he himself was simply a tool at the Commander's disposal?

Even more inconvenient was the fact that Nap was now within a stone's throw of a Titan, meaning that his transformation had already been triggered. He could feel the rush of emotion that came with his Titan-esque form as it clogged his mind like hair in a drainpipe.

"Shut up and follow orders!" Auruo once again shouted at Eren.

As the Female Titan's footsteps grew closer and closer, Nap noticed Eren's eyes focusing directly on his right hand. The green-eyed boy slid his blades back into their resting places and brought his hand to his mouth. He stared at it intensely before opening wide.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Eren?"

Leanne had been awfully quiet since Levi fired the acoustic round, but she now looked straight at Eren with almost no emotion on her pale face.

"I understand why you want to", continued the woman with the same eye color as Eren. "I'm sure Captain Levi does too. Because of that, I can't try to convince you not to."

"Don't encourage him, Leanne!" Gunther protested.

"She's not wrong", said Levi without looking back. "If you want to fight so badly, then go. Show us the monster that you truly are. It's got nothing to do with your Titan powers."

"What are you going to do?" asked Leanne as she and the rest of the team stared at Eren. "We'll have your back no matter what you decide, but make sure it's your own choice. Take it from me, Eren. A life bent on revenge isn't one worth living, not one bit."

All was quiet for a moment, except for the footsteps of their horses and the Titan behind them.

"Do it, Eren."

Eren turned around swiftly as he heard the simple command from Nap.

"Do it, and we can kill her." His golden eyes looked fiercely into Eren's emerald ones. "Think about it. We've got Captain Levi, and the Special Ops Squad. Combine that with your Titan powers and my own skills, and we'll beat her. She won't stand a ghost of a chance."

"You're right…" Eren looked longingly at his right hand, even as Eld, Gunther and Auruo pleaded with him to stop.

"Remember what I told you after you went to visit Petra", Leanne said calmly, her face a mask that hid a storm beneath it. "You have to trust in yourself. Do what you think is right."

"Even I don't know what the right answer is", Levi admitted. "Whether you believe in your own abilities or those of your trusted companions, you can never know how it'll turn out."

"That's not true", argued Nap. "You know exactly what will happen if you transform now. We'll take her down in an instant and we'll get out of here alive."

Eren looked back and forth between them as the Female Titan drew closer by the second.

"Make a choice, Eren", urged Levi. "But no matter what, make sure you have no regrets. That's all that you can hope for, at the end of the day."

Since the first time he had gone to face the Titans in Trost, Nap had felt nothing but regret. He regretted every single death that he had witnessed, and he had felt responsible for them all. That was why he couldn't sit idly by and watch as the Female Titan killed any more of his fellow humans. Even as he hesitated to make his move, she managed to bite the lone remaining soldier in half, ending his life in an instant. Nap could no longer afford to wait.

It wasn't as if he didn't trust Captain Levi, and it certainly wasn't as if he didn't trust the rest of the squad. He simply trusted himself more than any of them.

In addition to a clear motive, which was already present in his mind, Eren needed some sort of physical injury in order to transform. They had yet to determine whether or not the injury needed to be self-inflicted, but Nap would have to take a gamble and hope that he could do it himself.

Without another word, he rose from the saddle of his horse and brandished his twin blades in preparation for what he was about to do. He knew that Mikasa would never forgive him if she found out, but there was no other option at that moment.

"Don't do anything stupid!" screamed Gunther.

"Get down and keep moving!" urged Eld.

None of their words had any effect on him. Nap sprung from the back of his horse and leapt toward the boy in front of him, blades ready to strike, as Eren turned around to get a front-row seat of the action with a horrified look in his eyes.

"Nap, what are you-"

"You just can't follow orders, can you, Napoleon?" Levi growled as he too launched himself toward Eren. The Captain tackled Nap at full force, but the boy used all of his effort and fought through Levi's body long enough to make a single strike.

Nap skewered Eren through the arm with one of his blades, beginning the transformation.


	15. Fight in the Forest Pt 1: It's Her

_Nap and Eren, Year 850_

"Come at me, Eren", he said confidently, loosening his legs and throwing up both his fists in front of him. "Just try and see if you can land a hit."

The first day of their hand-to-hand combat training featured a simple drill where one trainee attacked the other with a wooden dagger, and the opponent attempted to confiscate the weapon. Eren had failed miserably on his first attempt to disarm Nap, and now it was his turn to go on the offensive. In between tries, the two of them had watched as Annie felled the gigantic Reiner Braun like it was nothing, and Nap hadn't been surprised one bit. It was Annie, after all.

"You'd best get ready", Eren warned. "I'm not very good at holding back."

"Spoken like a true warrior", remarked Nap as the shorter boy began his assault.

Eren lunged toward him with the faux dagger, and Nap was immediately disappointed at how predictable the strike was. He danced backward gracefully, faking a jab with his left hand before nailing Eren in the shin with a steaming kick from his right leg.

Nap's attacker screamed in agony and fell to the ground, dropping the dagger as he did so. Calmly, Nap leaned over to retrieve the crude weapon. He was already bored with the exercise.

"You call that a challenge?"

"What the… You kicked my leg?" Eren tried to get up, but was unable to put any weight on the leg that continued to sting with enormous pain.

"The pain will fade after a bit", Nap told him, absentmindedly twirling the dagger in his hand. "I'm sorry I did that to you, but I guess I'm just not very good at holding back either."

Several of the surrounding trainees stared at them while Nap took a seat next to Eren. Although he was rather dismayed that the other trainee hadn't put up much of a fight, he couldn't help but admire the boy's tenacity. Nap only knew of a few people who would have been able to take him down one-on-one, yet Eren Jaeger had attempted to do so anyway.

"That technique you used…" began Eren, still rubbing his lower leg and wincing. "It's the same one Annie uses, right? Did she teach it to you?"

"Yeah, she taught me a lot of things", he admitted, running a hand through his thick hair. "I'm not nearly as good as her, but I suppose that's almost impossible."

"True. She's one person I wouldn't want to mess with." He stared at the dagger that Nap continued to fiddle with. "I just don't get the point of this exercise."

"It's pretty simple, isn't it?" Nap asked. "We're training to fight with our hands."

"But it's so out of place", argued Eren. "When are we ever going to use this against Titans? We're not going to be fighting them with daggers or bare hands."

"You think the Titans are the only opponent you're ever going to face?" His question drew Eren's attention away from the prop dagger. "That's naive. You've got to be prepared for anything."

"Are you saying I'll have to fight against humans?"

"I'm not saying anything. However, I can't help but think of something Annie told me a few years ago. She said that sometimes you have to fight, whether you want to or not."

Eren looked over his shoulder as Reiner tried to talk Annie out of assaulting him yet again.

"Being a soldier isn't an easy job, Eren. You're going to have to get involved in battles that you have no business being part of. If it comes down to it, you might have to pick fights with people you thought were your allies. And if I absolutely had to… If it was the only way to save the lives of other people… I like to believe I'd even be able to go all out against her."

_Mikasa and Miranda, Year 850_

"That roar", said an alarmed Mikasa, turning toward the forest behind her. "Eren!"

She made a swift move to ready her Maneuver Gear, before a hand on the shoulder from the other girl stopped her. Mikasa looked up into a surprisingly serious face.

"Chill out", advised Miranda. "I'm sure this is all part of the Commander's plan."

"What if it's not?" Mikasa asked in a rattled voice. "What if Eren needs my help?"

"You don't really think that, do you?" The Invisible Soldier looked down at her with a goofy but reassuring smile. "Eren will be just fine. He's surrounded by some of the best Titan killers in the whole regiment. There's no way that blonde bimbo will be able to defeat them all."

"How are you so confident?"

"It's simple, really. Jean, Bertl and I managed to survive our encounter with that bitch. We may all be pretty awesome, but even I'm nowhere near the kind of badass that Nap and Captain Levi are. They won't let anything happen to Eren. I'm sure of it."

_Commander Erwin, Year 850_

"Is that what I think it is, Commander?" asked Hange.

"Undoubtedly." Erwin shook his head. The giant bolt of lightning that pierced through the ceiling of the forest in front of them could only be one thing. It was the transformation of Eren Jaeger into his Titan form, which sent the Commander's plans to the scrap heap.

"The Levi Squad is likely engaging the enemy", said Mike. "Should we jump in and help?"

Erwin Smith had hoped with all his heart that something like this would not happen. Perhaps it had been a mistake to put his trust in the young boy, but he had not been given much of a choice. There was no doubt that Eren Jaeger represented his best chance of finally fulfilling his dream, and so Erwin could not afford to risk him on a mishap like this.

But he trusted Levi.

"No, we'll keep our current position", the Commander decided. "It's possible that the enemy will still be lured into our trap, and if that happens, we must be prepared."

Even as he spoke, the Levi Squad was preparing to fight the enemy Titan.

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"Dammit, Napoleon…" Levi spat up blood as he pulled himself off of Nap. To say the day hadn't gone quite as planned would have been just a bit of an understatement.

He stepped back onto his left foot, and immediately bit his lip as a searing pain coursed through his body. The Captain looked down to determine the source of the agony, and once again cursed the name of the boy who had put them in this mess.

When he attempted to tackle Nap, Levi had let go of both of his operating devices in order to avoid puncturing the boy. He ultimately paid the price for this decision, as one of the blades he abandoned had ended up impaling his own left foot.

He grimaced and pulled it out as Nap rose to his feet next to him. The boy who had initiated Eren's Titan transformation felt a throbbing pain in his head, but otherwise was unharmed. Levi had unwittingly shielded him from the blast with his attempted tackle.

"You should sit this one out, Captain", Nap suggested. "You're not going to be any help with a wound like that. You'll just hold us back."

Eren had already begun his fight with the Female Titan, and he was holding his own as the two behemoths clashed beneath the trees. The other four members of the Levi Squad had been dinged up during the impact caused by Eren's transformation, but they all managed to swing about in the branches above, searching for openings amid Eren's unpredictable movements.

"Was this part of your plan?" Levi asked, with more blood oozing from his lips. "Or maybe you're such an idiot that you didn't even think it through this far."

"I thought as much as I needed to", retorted Nap. "With all of us fighting her, there's absolutely no way she'll make it out of this fight alive."

"That's not right, you moron", the short man growled as the Rogue Titan and the Female Titan continued to duke it out. "Don't tell me your Titan side is interfering with your brain already."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Listen carefully, everyone", Levi called out to the soldiers who were still unable to move in and attack the Female Titan. "We're not supposed to kill this bitch. Commander Erwin gave strict orders to keep her alive and see what she really looks like. The objective is to capture her."

So that was the Commander's plan. But if he had planned to capture her, how would he have done it other than by having the Levi Squad take her on? And if he had such a plan, why had he not told them? There was nothing else that Nap could think of, and so he stood by his choice.

_Langston and Lara, Year 850_

"It really is a shame that I'll have to be away from Anton for so long." Lara took a sip of some of Caleb Lynch's cheap booze, which she had resorted to drinking out of desperation.

"Are you two really still together?" Langston asked, trying to keep the uneasiness out of his voice. After what the two of them had just finished discussing, he understandably was not in the mood to talk about his older sister's convoluted love life.

"As you know, we've been on and off for a while, but lately we've been more on than off", she answered. "He's the reason why I was so eager to be transferred to Orvud in the first place."

"I remember very well. You only worked one case in the Capital before you left five years ago."

"And as I'm sure you've realized after our little chat, that case is what prompted me to request a temporary transfer out here." The tan-skinned woman drained the rest of her glass in disgust. "The disappearance of Irene Pixis… That investigation sent me on the path to where I am now."

"It's not often that you speak this openly with me, sister", noted Langston.

"You've done a lot of growing up in the past five years", she replied. "I'm proud of you, Langston. It turns out you're more like me than I thought."

"I don't know if that's a good thing." He shifted in his seat.

"That's no way to talk to your commanding officer", scolded Lara. "Take your negative attitude somewhere else. You're no longer needed here."

"Yes, sir", Langston grumbled, rising from his seat and exiting the office that had once belonged to Caleb Lynch. He was careful not to let the door hit him on the way out.

As soon as he was safe from his sister's prying eyes, he slumped against a wall and let out a deep sigh that could have been heard by someone all the way in Trost.

Before that day, he had known Lara as a secretive person who never told him anything important no matter how much he begged her to. Their last conversation almost caused him to miss that version of her.

Ymir had told him something similar outside of Trost, and he had seen Eren's power firsthand, but he had been skeptical up until that point. Now Langston knew the truth. There were Titans living amongst them. It was probable that he had met several of them, and it was undeniably certain that he had made friends with at least one of them. But there was no way it could be her.

It couldn't actually be her.

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"It's her."

"What do you mean, 'It's her', Napoleon?" Levi growled. "Do you know who's inside that Titan?"

"No, I was just talking to myself", Nap replied quickly.

By this point, Levi had reluctantly stripped off his cravat and used it to patch up the hole in his foot. It was still a difficult task for him to stand, but the Captain was one of the toughest people Nap had ever met. Thus the boy was more concerned with the realization he had just made.

Nap had been carefully watching the Female Titan's increasingly one-sided fight with the Rogue Titan, and his observations netted the same thought over and over again. He had seen her exact fighting style, not just once, but nearly every day for two years.

It was impossible for anyone other than Annie Leonhardt to be inside that Titan.

There was no other conclusion that made any sense. Every last move that the Female Titan showed him while dancing circles around Eren was taken straight from the book of Annie. Nap knew better than anyone how unthinkable it was that somebody else could have been able to emulate her style so perfectly. Even he had been unable to do so.

But why was Annie a Titan? And why was she _this_ Titan? Nap's brain was working overtime just trying to figure out that much. Trying to figure out why his best friend was attacking them.

In the state that he was in, he could barely even begin to think about anything. It was difficult for him to so much as focus his eyes on the brawl unfolding in front of him. The pain in his head would not go away, and for the first time he realized that it was not entirely physical.

Even in Trost, his body had not felt as awkward and unnatural as it did in that forest. He had made sure to starve himself during the morning before the expedition, yet the tumultuous ache he felt in his head could not prevent itself from leaking down into his stomach. His mouth was ready to burst open from the strain of his new teeth, and it took everything in his power for Nap to keep his feet perfectly still. But for the first time, his mind felt the worst of the assault.

Faces flashed through his head in lightning-quick succession. Annie's was the most prominent among them, as he would have expected, but Nap had trouble picking out the others as they blended together into a mosaic of familiar and unfamiliar people. He recognized his grandfather, and Anka, and Gustav. There was also Langston, and the tragic Mina, and Eren, and Armin, and Katya. He saw his mother for a brief second before she was gone. And as much as he had tried to keep her out of his head since Trost, there was one face that kept popping up.

Throughout Nap's struggle, the Female Titan continued to increase her advantage over Eren, before she finally ended the battle with a single roundhouse kick that knocked the Rogue Titan's head off and exposed its pilot, who had been incapacitated immediately upon impact.

The move was classic Annie.

"Levi Squad, move in!" shouted the Captain, as Eren's Titan body hit the floor.

Leanne, Auruo, Eld and Gunther moved to take Eren's place in the struggle against the Female Titan. Levi glanced over toward Nap, but the boy remained stationary. The Captain scowled in disgust and returned his attention to the battle in front of him.

_Commander Pixis, Year 850_

"I'm sorry to say it, but it looks like you just played yourself once again", the elderly Commander proclaimed, emphatically moving his one remaining knight into position. "Checkmate."

Wilhelm groaned and slumped down in his chair as Otto and Anka looked on with wide eyes. After seeing him throw match after match against Lord Balto, it was refreshing for Anka to witness just how much of a genius Dot Pixis was when he was on his game.

"That makes four in a row", Otto noted. "This last one might have been the worst beatdown yet."

"Shut up!" Wilhelm pouted, picking up his defeated king and throwing it toward his fellow soldier.

"I don't recall you faring any better, Otto", Anka chimed in. "Surely you still remember the last time you went up against the Commander. It was a bloodbath."

"Don't speak to me about the past", he retorted, sticking up his nose. "Besides, if you're going to talk trash, why don't you back it up? You and me, let's go, right here!"

"You certainly are feisty today", remarked the old man as he twirled a bishop in his hand. "I'm afraid we don't have time for another game. Our guest will be here shortly."

As if on cue, the four soldiers heard a rapping at the chamber door.

"I believe it's the loser's duty to answer", Pixis said to the still-dazed Wilhelm, who shook himself off and shuffled over to the only entrance to the old Commander's office.

He opened the door to reveal the familiar figures of Gustav and Katya, who gave their mundane greetings before crossing the threshold into the room.

"It's only you two?" asked the Commander, slightly disappointed. "I was under the impression that Mr. Reeves would be accompanying you."

"Mr. Reeves is present, but we had a small complication on the way here." Katya cringed visibly.

"A complication?" Wilhelm asked, still standing by the door.

"Are you satisfied yet, you buffoon?" came a voice from outside the entrance, just before the potbellied Dimo Reeves stomped through the open door.

"Would you wait just a minute, good sir?" pleaded the voice of the man who followed him. "You claim you saw an aberrant Titan during the evacuation of Trost! I beg you to tell me everything!"

"There's nothing to tell!" the head of the Reeves Corporation bellowed. "Just leave me alone!"

The members of the Garrison stared in awkward bewilderment at the twig-shaped specimen who was hounding the businessman while scribbling madly in an old notebook, his unkempt brown hair fluttering about as he did so.

"Katya… Gustav…" Anka began. "Who is this?"

It was only at this point that the young man seemed to notice the other occupants of the room. He adjusted the tie that he wore along with a suit that was several sizes too big for him, and threw off his large overcoat before taking an unnecessarily dramatic bow.

"Acquaintances, the pleasure is all mine", said the stranger in his most charming voice, even though no one present had claimed that the pleasure belonged to them. "Please, allow me to introduce myself. I am Anton Clements, journalist extraordinaire."

"Journalist… Extraordinaire?" asked Otto in disbelief.

"Commander Pixis… Everyone…" Katya continued to wear a look of utter distaste. "This man is named Anton Drake. He's my older brother."

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"Napoleon, pull Eren out of the nape", Levi ordered.

The Captain called his name once more but still could not get his attention. Nap, despite being a trained soldier with as much talent as anyone, had been transfixed by the action unfolding in his midst. He found it difficult to keep his eyes off of it for even a second.

Napoleon Pixis was in turmoil. He could not have moved even if he had wanted to, and he certainly did not want to. He was only able to watch with glazed eyes and an open mouth as the rest of the Special Ops Squad tore apart his best friend.

Their blades ripped through her flesh faster than she could regenerate it. Nap barely had to think through the attack pattern, as he had practiced with them nearly every day for a month. One second Eld was slicing off part of her ankle, and the next Auruo was cutting a gash through her spine. The one place they knew to avoid was the nape of the neck.

Gunther jammed his blades into her eyes before loading another pair and taking the opportunity to slice through her left wrist. Nap could not understand why they had such an easy time with it. If Annie was really the one inside this Titan, why was she not putting up more of a fight?

He had seen the Female Titan harden her skin during her battle with Eren, who was now being carried by Leanne, unconscious and giving off steam like a doused bonfire. If she were to do the same to them, there was no way their blades would have been able to cut through her so easily.

Was she holding back because of who her opponent was?

The thought briefly crossed Nap's mind, but it was lost in the swirling vortex that his brain had become. In that moment, he was in complete disarray, but it mattered not. He had a job to do, and that job was to rip his best friend to shreds. But there was no way he could do it. Even in order to accomplish his ultimate goal, that task was unthinkable.

By the time the Levi Squad was done with her, the Female Titan's appearance resembled that of the Titan with Mina's face right before Mikasa ended its life. Nap's mind no longer contained thoughts of anything other than the monster in front of him and his trembling hands. He had forgotten about the mission, about the Levi Squad, about Annie Leonhardt. Even about her.

Nap was yanked back to reality by the hood of his cloak. The air was knocked from his lungs as he was thrown into the trunk of a tree by Captain Levi, who scowled at him from a branch overlooking the bloody mess that was the remains of the Female Titan.

"You sure were a big help there, Napoleon", Levi said apathetically.

"Am I correct to assume that he played a part in causing Eren to transform?" asked Commander Erwin, who Nap hadn't even seen arrive due to his all-consuming anguish.

Coming out of his trance, Nap noticed that the Commander wasn't the only newcomer. Dozens of other soldiers from the Survey Corps filled the trees around them, including Mike and Hange. He couldn't help but wonder how much they had seen, and what they now thought of him after witnessing his inability to provide any sort of assistance in the fight.

The Female Titan was barely able to move, and it tried desperately to cover the nape of its neck with its right hand. Leanne and the rest of the Special Ops Squad stood in the branches above Nap, with the redheaded woman holding Eren like a bag of grain.

"Should we proceed with the extraction?" called Mike.

"Yes, but use extreme caution." Erwin narrowed his eyes and stared down at the Female TItan. "We have no way to restrain her if she manages to regenerate. As soon as her limbs begin to-"

The Commander was unable to conclude his instruction due to the ungodly roar that burst from the mouth of the defeated Titan. Nap's ears practically exploded as the eruption blasted through the forest, shaking the trees around him with its unnatural velocity. The Female TItan did not let up, and continued to unleash a handful of subsequent roars until the eardrums of each of the surrounding soldiers felt as though they were going to burst entirely.

All was still for a few moments afterwards. Nap's breathing had ceased during the squad's assault on the Titan, but now he could hear it clear as day. The soldiers around him all attempted to recover their senses after the threatening roar.

"What was that?" asked Moblit, slowly uncovering his ears as he stood by the wide-eyed Hange.

Nap wondered the same thing, and it was clear to him that everyone else did as well, with the lone exception being the still-unconscious Eren. There was no reason for Annie to let out a sound like that. What could her goal possibly be?

He got his answer soon enough.

"Erwin!" yelled an agitated Mike. "I can smell them approaching!"

"From what direction?" asked the Commander in response.

"Every direction." Mike's face turned into a dark grimace. "There are too many to count."

Erwin's entire body lit up with alarm, and Nap began to understand exactly what Annie was trying to do. He still had no idea why she was the one controlling that Titan, but there were things that needed to be done before he could worry about that.

"Levi, how are your injuries?" Erwin Smith asked the Captain.

"Nothing that'll kill me", answered Levi. "That being said, I definitely won't be able to fight at the top of my game. It's your call."

"I see. Leanne!" Commander Erwin regained his composure quickly. "Take Eren and the rest of your squad! Retreat further into the forest!"

"Yes, sir!" replied the tallest woman Nap had ever met. He rose to his feet and took off after her, as she carried her burden away from the incoming Titans.

"Are you sure about that, Erwin?" asked Levi as the enemies continued to close in.

"There isn't another choice. We have to continue to trust the five of them to protect him."

_Langston, Year 850_

Taking a deep breath, Langston Stendahl knocked twice on Hitch and Annie's bedroom door. He had barely recovered from his meeting with Lara, but he wasn't about to let himself slack off like the other new members of the Military Police. He owed his friends that much, at least.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal the blank face of Hitch Dreyse. Her eyebrows rose when she saw the boy who had come to visit.

"Hello", Hitch said from the other side of the entrance. "Is it me you're looking for?"

"Actually, I was hoping to find Annie." Langston's body tensed as his tanned face grew hot. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you see, I have to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know all about it." She waved him off lazily and rolled her eyes. "Annie's not here right now, but you might as well come in and wait for her to get back."

"Are you sure that's okay?" asked Langston while Hitch stepped aside in order to let him pass. "You're not busy or anything, are you?"

"Busy? Who the hell do you think I am?"

"You're right. Stupid question."

He tentatively stepped past her and into the room. Based on the state that it was in, Langston had an easy time telling which side belonged to Hitch, and which one belonged to Annie. She shut the door behind him and retreated to her own bed, while Langston took a seat in a chair.

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

Nap's head gradually cleared itself up as he swung through the trees with the rest of the Levi Squad. Leanne, at the head of the pack, was still carrying the body of Eren. The sounds of the battle faded into the background, but the five conscious soldiers could not erase the uneasiness from their minds for more than a few moments at a time.

"Why did the Commander drive us away back there?" Auruo asked to no one in particular. "We could have taken out all of those Titans, no problem!"

"Our job is simply to protect Eren", answered Gunther.

"And to protect me, right?"

The older members of the squad all turned their heads toward Nap, who lagged at the rear despite possessing as much speed as the rest of them combined.

"That's not entirely true", Eld tried to explain. "Commander Erwin knows exactly what you're capable of. But you're just as much of a wild card as Eren. I'm guessing he didn't want to take too much of a risk, and so he decided to kill two birds with one stone."

"That doesn't make any sense", Nap growled angstily. "If he thought I was such a loose cannon, why did he place me in the Levi Squad to begin with? He could have come out and told me if he felt that I wasn't trustworthy. I surely would have understood."

"Quit it, Nap", called Leanne from the front of the group. "Our job is to stand ready further in. Once we're in position, you can bitch about your sorry-ass life as much as you want."

"Yes, sir." He bowed his head and began to keep pace with his teammates. Finding out that his best friend was an enemy Titan was enough bad news for one day.

_Mikasa and Miranda, Year 850_

"See? There's a blue flare", said Miranda, pointing out the smoke signal to the other girl. "That definitely means Eren's okay. We wouldn't be going back without him."

"He's fine", Mikasa tried to convince herself as much as her comrade. "I'm sure of it."

The two of them entered the forest as soon as the Titans from the outside had begun running into it at the sound of the Female's roar, but the sight of the signal to retreat had switched their priority, and the time to return to Karanes was upon them.

"Hey, I'm not blaming you for being worried about Eren", Miranda said with an understanding pat on the back. "It's no secret that you've got a big old crush on him, after all."

"It's not like that", came the obvious lie from the girl burying her face in her scarf. "We're family. He's all I have left, so I have to protect him. That's all."

"Yeah, you're not fooling anyone." The Titan shifter shook her head and began the journey out of the woods. "It's too bad. I was beginning to ship you with someone else, actually."

_Special Ops Squad, Year 850_

"That looks like the signal to retreat", said Gunther, noticing a blue flare in the distance. "Let's get on our horses and prepare to withdraw."

The Levi Squad had found their horses and tied them up, and after stopping to resupply, they had retreated deep into the forest like Commander Erwin ordered them to. Now that their superior was calling for them to pull out, all of that work had to be undone.

"Someone else needs to carry him on the way back", Leanne said, gesturing toward the still-sleeping form of Eren. "There's no way I'm taking on that load for one more second."

"That's funny, you're usually so good about taking loads." Auruo pounced on the all-too-easy opportunity, and Leanne scrunched her face up and glared at him.

"I say we give that honor to the youngest of us", Eld decided for all of them. "Nap, he's all yours. This is the home stretch, so make sure not to wet yourself like Auruo did on his first mission."

Gunther looked amused and Leanne cackled with glee as Auruo began to hurl a barrage of insults toward Eld, all of which were countered calmly. Nap declined to participate. Having had their fun, the Special Ops Squad took to the air and went to rendezvous with their leader.

Annie was a Titan. But she was also his best friend. But she had tried to kill him, and he had frozen up when given the opportunity to return the favor. Though Nap was no longer close enough to a Titan to feel the effects of his transformation, his head still ached as his brain wavered back and forth between hating Annie and loving her even more.

The facts were in front of him, but he couldn't put them all together without leaving some out to dry. There was no way for him to objectively manipulate them without letting his personal feelings interfere. What he needed most was an explanation from Annie.

He had no idea how many Titans had actually charged into the forest after the Female's roar, but he knew that even a gimpy-legged Levi could take out any number of them. Making things even easier for the humans, their predators would have been preoccupied trying to devour Annie's Titan body, since it had been established that Titans were more interested in larger prey. They may have also attacked the Rogue Titan, though that was unlikely, considering that its pilot had long since been removed from its decaying remains.

The Commander's plan all along had been to capture the person inside of the Female Titan, and there was a good chance that he had succeeded in doing so. If that was the case, Nap would certainly be able to have the conversation that he was dying to have.

Knowing this, Napoleon Pixis turned his head to the side in order to avoid hitting Eren as he emphatically spewed his guts out all over the forest floor.

"Looks like the pressure gets to even the best of the newbies", Eld remarked, shaking his head. The rest of them shared a good chuckle at Nap's expense.

"Listen, I want to say something that you're probably all wondering about", said Nap, addressing all four of his comrades and wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his leather jacket. "I know that I blatantly went against the Commander's plan, and I certainly betrayed your trust. I also got cold feet when we were told to attack the Female. There's no excuse for it, and I know I screwed up big time, but I'm not going to apologize for the choices I made back there."

"No one expects you to apologize, dumbass", blurted out Auruo as soon as he finished.

"What do you mean?" Nap had expected a slightly different reaction.

"You made the choice that you thought was right", Leanne explained. "No one can fault you for that. We've all been in your shoes before, believe me."

"Besides, it didn't turn out badly for us", Eld continued. "Who's to say that Commander Erwin's plan would have worked out if you left it alone? In the end, we still managed to catch her."

"Maybe so, but Captain Levi was injured because of the choice I made." Nap frowned. "That being said, I do get where you're coming from. He told me the same thing a short time ago."

"Now you understand", said Auruo, looking at him smugly. "You catch on pretty quickly for a rookie, I must admit. But don't think you're out of the woods just yet."

"Thanks for the compliment, Auruo." Now that Nap's conscience was at least partially cleared, he decided to join in on the squad's competitive banter. "It's easy for me to catch on, seeing as how I haven't been painting the forest yellow this whole time."

Leanne and Eld burst out in astonished laughter at the surprising insult, while Auruo glared at Nap with the rage of a thousand white-hot burning suns.

"That's enough!" yelled Gunther, fed up with the jokes. "We're not here on a picnic!"

"Pic… Nic…" It was quieter than Nap was used to, but Eren's voice still managed to draw him in.

"Nap…"

"It looks like someone finally woke up from their little slumber party", Leanne quipped. "Welcome back to the real world, Eren. It's been quite a while."

Before the others could chime in, the sight and sound of a green flare to the squad's right stole their attention away from anything else.

"That must be Captain Levi's signal", deduced Gunther. "We're going to meet up with the Captain! You can continue this pointless squabble after we get back!"

With those words, Gunther planted his feet on a branch and launched his own green flare, before rejoining the squad and continuing toward the other column of smoke. Before long, they were joined by another figure wearing the emblem of the Survey Corps.

"Captain Levi?" Gunther asked quietly as the mysterious companion drifted in and out of their fields of vision amidst the giant trees of the forest.

The figure gave no response, and Nap tensed up, as he knew just what Gunther was thinking.

"No… It's not him!" yelled an alarmed Gunther. "Who's there?!"

The hooded person moved faster than any of them could follow and, in one swift movement, swung through the trees and directly in front of Gunther. Nap could only watch as the familiar enemy sliced off the man's head with a single strike.

"Gunther!" yelled Leanne, as the newly-awakened Eren squirmed about in Nap's arms so as to get a slightly better view of the action around him.

"Nap, take Eren and get out of here!" Auruo shouted at him while the faceless foe continued to swing through the trees around them.

"Roger that." He didn't have to tell him twice. Annie had not yet taken her Titan form, so Nap was still able to think clearly, and he knew that the smartest course of action was to take Eren as far away from her as possible while the rest of the squad dealt with the Female Titan.

"Eld! Which way do we go?" asked the man who had once tried to imitate Captain Levi.

"We have to leave the horses behind!" Eld instructed. "Get out of this forest as fast as you can!"

Gunther's killer remained in hot pursuit of the Levi Squad as Nap did his best to distance himself from the pack with the added mass of the groggy Titan shifter weighing him down.

"Is that the same bitch that was inside the Titan?" Auruo wondered aloud. "Or one of many?"

"I don't care who it is!" Leanne yelled, her auburn hair fanning out around her head and resembling a wildfire. "Let's kill her or die trying! Do it for Gunther!"

These words were the last that Nap heard clearly from any of his comrades. His Maneuver Gear

carried him through the forest and away from the threat that they were prepared to face.

He heard the sound of the Female Titan's transformation, and then tuned everything else out.

"Nap… What was that?" Eren asked, still attempting to regain his bearings after being knocked out during his last fight. While Annie appeared to have no problem functioning after emerging from her Titan body, Eren still had trouble staying awake.

"Don't concern yourself with that", answered the golden-eyed boy, his outer shell displaying none of the trepidation that he felt within.

Annie was fighting the Special Ops Squad, and even without Gunther, they were as formidable an opponent as any that the Female Titan would ever face. It was hard to tell whether or not they would be able to kill her this time, but someone would surely end up dead.

Nap could not decide which outcome he truly desired less.


	16. Fight in the Forest Pt 2: Lost Cause

_Nap and Mikasa, Year 848_

"It looks like the rain is going to let up soon."

"Good, that means I can finally get out of here."

Mikasa walked gracefully toward the window and stood next to Nap, examining the world outside with her clear gray eyes.

"You still have the map with you from before, right Nap?"

"I do, but it wasn't much use to us then. Do you want to give it a try?"

"Might as well. There's no way we'll make it there without it."

He nodded and handed her the unfolded piece of paper. Her eyes scanned it for a few seconds before she turned back to him with a disapproving look.

"You were reading it wrong."

"I was? How can you tell?"

"You see this symbol right here? It's a compass. Each of these letters represents one of the four cardinal directions. North should be facing toward the top, like this."

She turned the map ninety degrees and presented it to him again, at which point he frowned.

"I don't know how I didn't see that earlier."

"You've never had to read a map before, have you?"

"No, not that I can remember. It wasn't something I thought about while I was living in Mitras."

"Go figure."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Forget about it."

"You wouldn't have said it if it meant nothing."

"Why do you care so much? You and I aren't friends."

"But why aren't we? We should be, shouldn't we?"

The two locked eyes for a few heated seconds. He took in every detail of Mikasa's face, and turned back toward the window when he was done comparing it to Annie's.

"I knew as soon as I met you that you were a strong person, Mikasa. That's why I've at least made an effort to get to know you, which is something I don't do very often. But I'm beginning to think that it's a lost cause. Maybe you and I are too similar to get along."

Together they watched the raindrops race down the outside of the window, sometimes clashing with one another and sometimes drifting apart, but always reaching the bottom in the end.

"I know you'll disagree with me, but we're nothing alike."

"You got one thing right. I do disagree with you."

_Nap and Eren, Year 850_

"Nap, what's going on?" Eren screamed after completing his ascent back to reality.

Napoleon Pixis barely paid him any attention. His one goal was to get as far away from the Female Titan as possible, and though the pain in his head still had not let up, he was hell-bent on fulfilling his duty to the rest of the Levi Squad. He owed them that much at least.

"Why are we running away? Where is the rest of the squad?"

"Don't worry about that right now, Eren."

"Are they fighting the Female Titan?"

"I told you not to worry about that."

"Why the hell wouldn't I worry about it? We have to help them out!"

"That's not our job." Nap landed on an ample branch and pulled Eren out from under his arm by the neck of his shirt. He held the Titan shifter out in front of him and stared him down. The ache in Nap's head grew worse and worse, but he stuck to his guns. "The only thing we need to do right now is get as far away from there as possible. Let the others handle her for now."

From his new vantage point, Eren could now see the battle unfolding behind them.

"Eld!" he screamed in a distraught rage as the second-in-command of the Levi Squad was torn in half by a single bite from the Female Titan.

"What the?"

Nap turned around only for a split second, but that was all the time Eren needed to make his move. He slammed his fist into Nap's head and used the distraction to wrench himself free from the taller boy's grasp. With a pained yell, Nap fell from the branch and barely managed to cushion the fall as he ended up on the floor of the forest.

Looking up from his position, Nap could see Eren sprinting through the woods in the direction of the two remaining members of the Special Ops Squad, yelling angrily all the way. Nap threw up one more time for good measure, and then his whole world grew dark.

_Leanne and Auruo, Year 850_

"Nobody told me they could focus their healing!"

"We barely know jack to begin with! What did you expect?"

The two survivors were now on the defensive, barely keeping up with the reenergized Female Titan despite having sliced through its shoulder muscles and taken out its vision. They had been caught completely off guard when, barely half a minute after they eliminated its right eye, it regenerated it completely and bit Eld in half. Now only Leanne and Auruo remained, with Nap having taken Eren to safety, or so they thought at the moment.

The Female Titan charged at Auruo with its useless arms flopping by its side and its newly regenerated eye trained on him and unblinking. He frantically moved out of the way with his Maneuver Gear, but the Titan was fast. It made its move as soon as Auruo was directly adjacent to a nearby tree, and raised a single leg to strike faster than he could dodge.

But it was not quite fast enough.

Leanne Fawkes, out of nowhere, did the only thing she could to protect her old friend and rival. As if she was shot out of a cannon, the redheaded woman swung her blades in an arc as she breezed past the Titan's ankle, rendering the beast's foot useless and buying Auruo just enough time to get out of the way and land beside her on the ground. Leanne wiped a stream of blood from her mouth and quickly replaced her blades.

"Looks like I finally paid you back."

"Save it for when we're out of here. Time to kill this bitch."

Auruo hesitated no longer and made a beeline for the Female Titan's neck, Leanne swinging to the opposite side and following his movements. With the tendons in its ankle now mostly severed, the monster that had killed Eld and Gunther was kneeling on the ground, unable to stand or move its arms more than a little bit. Auruo now had a clean strike at its neck.

"Die!" was the simple battle cry that he chose as he pulled back his blades in preparation.

The one-eyed Titan didn't even bother dodging. Instead, it hardened its skin, just as Leanne and Auruo had seen it do in its fight with Eren. Auruo's blades shattered against the crystallized neck of the Female Titan, and he spun out of control from the impact.

Leanne was in no position to save him a second time. There would be no more miracles. She could do nothing but stare in disbelief as the Female Titan gave a furious roundhouse kick with its one remaining good leg and sent Auruo Bossard crashing into the ground, dead on arrival.

Even if she had found the strength to speak, there was nothing left to say and no one left to listen, save for the Titan that had just killed her whole squad. Killing the aforementioned Titan would also be an impossible task due to its hardening abilities. All that Leanne could hope to do in her final moments was slow the bitch down.

With her auburn hair clinging to her forehead and tears streaming down her face, she catapulted herself toward the leg that had ended the life of the man she had grown to love and hate. She made a cut with her blades, but it was shallow, and would barely serve to hinder the Female Titan, who proceeded to kick her into the air and smash her against the side of a tree.

The last thing Leanne saw was Eren Jaeger, sprinting toward her with his mouth wide.

"Sorry, Petra… I couldn't save the little bastard…"

_Katya and Anton, Year 850_

The youngest child of the Drake family stared across the room at her older brother. Neither one of them had said anything for what felt like ages, but Anton wore the same wry smile on his narrow face that he had worn on the day the two of them first met. Katya frowned, not knowing what to say to him and wondering why he, of all people, wasn't talking.

He appeared soon after she and Gustav had gone to fetch Dimo Reeves, and she had been happy to see that he was as much of an insatiable nutjob as ever. After not seeing each other for several years, the two Drakes were not having the most pleasant reunion.

The painfully awkward silence was ruined by a knock at the door.

"Come in", the two of them said at the same time.

Katya had expected the new arrival to be her Commander, returning to his office after leaving the two of them to chat while he met with Mr. Reeves. Instead, the door was opened by one of the last people she had expected, though, knowing her brother, she was entirely unsure of why she had not been expecting it. She began to envy Caleb Lynch for his endless supply of booze.

"I listened in on their conversation like you asked, Anton", said her brother's old friend, Cortney, as she shut the door behind her. "It appears that Commander Pixis intends to enlist the Reeves Corporation's help in restoring this city's reputation among the merchants."

"That is excellent work, Titan 02." Anton rose from his seat as he serenaded her and grasped the startled woman's hand. "With this knowledge, we'll be sure to sell a record amount in the coming weeks. Just imagine the look on Sergey's face when he gets word of how many people will see our message of the truth! And Fernando, he'll be absolutely ecstatic! Not to mention-"

"Are you going to continue to torture that poor woman?" Katya asked, her annoyance reaching a new peak. "What is it that you came here for, if I dare to ask?"

"I'm glad you've become so curious, Titan 05." The Squad Leader's only brother ran a hand through his hair, which looked as though it had not been washed in months. "It isn't often that my disciples and I depart from our laboratory in Orvud, after all. However, now that my lovely Lara has been transferred to Stohess for the time being, it is with a heavy heart that I journey all the way to the remote city of Trost with only a single goal in mind."

"You can cease with the flamboyancy, Anton", growled his younger sister impatiently.

Anton grinned smugly at her as he returned to his seat. Cortney remained standing by his side while the self-proclaimed "journalist extraordinaire" crossed his legs in front of him.

"It certainly is reassuring to see that my darling sister remains true to herself", he remarked.

"It certainly is reassuring to see that my darling brother still manages to be flexible enough to position his head inside his own rectum", she retorted.

Cortney had to stifle a giggle as Anton's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Kat." His arm extended fully as he stood and pointed a finger toward Katya. "How quickly you forget that I never lost a debate when you and I faced each other as children. The things I could say to turn the tide in this squabble are bountiful, I assure you. But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue."

"This is probably a lost cause, but you are aware that you have the option to leave and never see him again, right?" Katya asked the freckled woman still standing next to her brother.

"I don't see any reason to do that", Cortney replied with a smile. "Anton has always treated me and the others well, even if he is a bit off his rocker."

"Well said, Titan 02!" exclaimed the man whose body appeared to be drowning in his navy blue sea of a suit. "You see, Kat, my followers are as loyal as they come! Except for you, that is."

"Your followers are loyal, are they? I assume that means you've been unsuccessful in your attempts to bring our sister on board?"

"On the contrary, Franzy is one of my most accomplished minions", Anton boasted to Katya's surprise. "You would do well to emulate her devotion, Titan 05."

"That can't possibly be right." Katya's face displayed her apparent shock. "This is the same Franzy we're talking about, right? Franziska Drake?"

"It's true", Cortney chimed in. "She's been a big help to us. When Fernando got sick last month, she came all the way out to Orvud and cured him singlehandedly. It was a real spectacle."

"I can't believe this." Katya sulked at her desk. She had been trying to win her older sister's favor for years, and Anton had done so with apparent ease.

"Frailty, thy name is Kat!" Anton exclaimed, once more pointing a slender finger toward his youngest sibling. "Surely you see that if you merely accept your invitation into my clique, you will be welcomed by all, including the distinguished Titan 07, Franzy Drake!"

"That's enough", Katya said sharply, causing the eyebrows of Anton and Cortney to fly into the air. "Tell me why you came to Trost, or get out of my sight. Those are your options."

Anton's face shifted as he bowed his head. After a few moments, a small laugh began to emit from his barely-open mouth. It was a laugh that Katya knew all too well, and it was a laugh that escalated into a cacophony of madness that was a microcosm of the man himself.

"I am Anton Clements, journalist extraordinaire", said Anton smoothly after his laughter finally ceased. "I am but a simple man who wishes to expose the conspiracy that lies within these walls and liberate the people I have grown to adore from the tyranny that they face!"

_Nap, Year 850_

He nearly choked on his own vomit as his eyes opened. Nap was lying in the same spot where he had blacked out following his fall from the treetops. To his dismay, the pain in his head had not entirely faded, but it was more bearable than it had been before he lost consciousness.

Nap sat up quickly as he remembered the last sight that he had seen before falling into the void. Eren had shoved him to the ground and taken off as fast as his human legs could carry him. But if that was the case, why could Nap see no signs of either the Female Titan or the Rogue Titan, or any of the other members of the Special Ops Squad for that matter?

"Did you enjoy your nap, Nap?"

Jumping to his feet and spinning around while yelling out a piercing curse, Nap was greeted by the sight of a widely-grinning Miranda Sieyes, holding up a hand in salutation.

"Miranda… How long was I out?"

"Only a few minutes, as far as I can tell. You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you up."

He frantically searched the forest around him for even the slightest trace of any of his companions. Finding none, he turned back to the Invisible Soldier.

"Where is Eren? And the Female Titan? And the rest of the Levi Squad?"

"I dunno, but Mikasa took off that way", Miranda said with a point toward the direction in which Eren had run off earlier. She pointed past the spot where the Special Ops Squad had fought against the Female Titan and further into the forest. That was likely where they had gone, too.

"How long ago was this?" Nap asked, making sure that his Maneuver Gear was still in working condition. He had refilled his gas tanks along with the rest of his squad earlier.

"Not long at all", she answered quickly. "Mikasa was all worried about her little baby Eren, so she ignored you completely. I stopped to say hi because I'm a nice person, unlike her."

"You've been a big help, Miranda", Nap said with honest sincerity. "Are you going to come with me or not? I could use some help against this opponent. She's strong, whoever she is."

Annie. His opponent was Annie. He couldn't get the idea out of his head.

"Nah, I wouldn't be very useful. I'd just slow you down", Miranda fibbed.

"Suit yourself", he grunted, launching himself into the air and hurrying after Mikasa.

Nap felt his heart drop into his stomach as he scanned the ground while passing through the location of the Levi Squad's struggle with the Female Titan. The bodies of Eld, Auruo and Leanne littered the forest floor, and the guilt Nap had felt in Trost resurfaced in full force. After he had been so entrenched in his own ways, he had given in to their team-first attitude and trusted them to take care of things on their own. Not that he had been given much of a choice due to Eren's condition at the time, but he still couldn't help but feel responsible.

He passed by their mangled remains, wondering how Petra would feel when she found out.

Before long, Nap spotted the conspicuous form of the Female Titan, on its hands and knees, through the branches of the tall-ass trees. As he approached at top speed, he saw it lash out at a nearby tree, just missing a green-cloaked human that could only have been Mikasa.

Nap drew ever closer, and the Female Titan began to run, with a vengeful Mikasa shouting at it and trailing not too far behind. With a scowl on his face from the dull throbbing of his head, he wrapped an arm around the livid girl and took her for a ride.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, looking up into a face that was anything but welcome.

"I'm helping you", Nap said boldly. "We're going to get Eren back."

"I almost had her, before you showed up", growled Mikasa through gritted teeth.

Nap looked ahead at the bouncing buttocks of his best friend's Titan form.

"You weren't even close." He released his hold on her now that she appeared to have her head on her shoulders again. "She took out four members of the Levi Squad by herself. They were trained Titan assassins, and she ripped them to shreds like it was child's play. You and I may be good, but we're only going to beat her by working together. Are you in?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"I suppose not. You're sure Eren's alive, right?"

They kept their distance, careful not to come within range of the Female Titan's attacks.

"I'm positive. This Titan is intelligent, and her objective must be to capture Eren. She bit him out of the nape of his Titan's neck. If she wanted him dead, she didn't have to do all that work."

"So she put Eren in her mouth in order to fight and flee at the same time."

"Exactly."

Nap would have expected nothing less from the Annie Leonhardt he knew. Any reservations he had about fighting his oldest companion had faded as soon as he met up with Mikasa. It was rather fitting that she was the one to keep him grounded.

"It's probably my fault that this happened. If I had allowed Commander Erwin to proceed with the plan, we would have captured this Titan and Eren would still be safe and sound."

"That's right. You guys were charged with protecting him. What happened to that job?"

Nap could feel his inner guilt mixing with his Titan-esque form.

"There isn't time to talk about that right now. I never should have brought it up. We have to focus on recovering Eren, but there's no way we can kill the Female Titan while she can still harden her skin, so let's forget about that for the time being. Are you ready for this?"

Mikasa's eyes lit up like signal flares.

"Absolutely. Let's tear her apart."

_Miranda, Year 850_

"Those two had better bring Eren back." Miranda shook her head as she swung leisurely through the trees. "Otherwise, I'll be in big trouble. Especially if they both get themselves killed."

If she could have picked any two soldiers to take on the Female Titan, Miranda would have nominated Nap and Mikasa in a heartbeat. But the traits that made them special were the exact reasons why it had been an incredible risk to allow them to fight the enemy.

"She's a descendant of the Ackermans, and he's Irene's only son. If they bite the dust here, Old Man Reiss might just get exactly what he wants. Obviously, I can't let that happen."

"I've always wondered who the hell you think you're talking to when you go on like that."

Miranda let out a startled yelp as Abby Frauke materialized beside her. The petite girl frowned in her usual unpleasant manner and kept pace using her Maneuver Gear.

"That's just the way I do things", Miranda explained, trying to pass her habit off as a simple quirk. "You know me. Miranda Sieyes, the Invisible Soldier."

"Yeah, I don't buy that for a second." Abigail's one remaining eye seemed to convey all of the emotion that her missing one was unable to. "There's more to you than meets the eye, Miranda. Why else would you know the name 'Reiss', after all?"

Miranda's mouth widened into an ecstatic grin.

"This world just keeps on getting curiouser and curiouser."

_Nap and Mikasa, Year 850_

It was uncanny, and frankly more than a bit of a surprise to the both of them. Nothing during their three years of training had hinted at it. If anything, it had been the opposite. Nonetheless, neither one of them could deny what was happening as they carved up the Female Titan.

Napoleon Pixis and Mikasa Ackerman were in complete sync with each other.

Together they moved in arcs through the trees, using elite precision to slash at the weakened Titan with their blades, too fast for her to harden her skin or strike back. The two of them didn't even need to communicate with one another or coordinate their attacks in any way. It was as if Nap knew Mikasa's next move even before she did, and vice versa.

First they went for the Titan's eyes, tearing into them just as the Special Ops Squad had done during their battle with the beast. After the enemy had been blinded, they went to work on her legs, immobilizing her and forcing her to slump down with her back against the trunk of a tree. It was in this position that the Female Titan found herself when Nap and Mikasa began their third assault, this time going for the mouth that held the captured Eren.

Nap was able to do all of this while knowing exactly who they were fighting.

The pair descended upon their opponent like vultures. It was so easy that Nap was almost bored. He had seen the Female Titan fight earlier against Eren and the Levi Squad, but it was completely different now that he was the one attacking her. _He_ knew who he was up against.

Nap's blades cut cleanly through the Titan's left cheek, as did Mikasa's on the opposite side. Their strike forced the enormous creature's mouth to spring open like a trapdoor, revealing the contents within. Nap planted his feet on the side of a tree and observed the slime-covered form of Eren, while Mikasa made a move to retrieve him from his disgusting prison.

She landed on a branch several trees over from him and embraced the unconscious boy who was still encased in a cocoon of Titan saliva. Nap had briefly forgotten just how much she truly cared about Eren, and just how incredibly wrong he had been about her before. If Miranda were present to see the way Nap looked at her, the Invisible Soldier probably would have advised him to keep it in his pants. Mikasa nodded at him with a look of relief on her face.

"He's okay", she called to him, appearing almost giddy with excitement. "I can hear his heartbeat. He's definitely still alive."

"That's good to hear", he replied, unable to keep himself from smiling. "Let's get out of here."

"Are you sure?" She turned back toward the Titan that still lay slumped against a tree. "She killed a lot of our comrades. Don't you want to kill her now that we have the chance?"

"No." He didn't even hesitate with his answer. "That's the last thing I want to do right now."

Their mission finally complete, Nap and Mikasa left the pilot within the steaming body of the Female Titan to sit and dwell on her failure. He snuck a quick peek back at the Titan form that he still could not believe contained his best friend. With her mouth gaping and her eyes still regenerating themselves, the Female Titan almost looked to Nap as though she was laughing.

"That's twice now that you've saved Eren's life. I'm thankful."

"My job is to save as many lives as possible. Plus, it's not like I did it alone. I know I've already said this, but I was dead wrong about you before. You really do care about him."

"Yeah, I forgive you. You're not wrong very often, after all. Besides… You fight good."

_Petra, Year 850_

She found herself staring out the window, this time more due to force of habit than anything else. Petra knew that the Survey Corps' expedition would not end for several hours, but she could not help her anxiety as she thought about her friends outside the walls.

Even without her there to support them, the Levi Squad would be fine. She was sure of it. Even if they had not been skilled soldiers like herself, they would have been safe because of him. Captain Levi was the one man she trusted and admired more than any other man in the world.

It took several knocks for her to realize that she had a visitor.

"Come in", she said just loudly enough to be heard through the closed door.

"Thinking about them again?" asked the familiar doctor who entered her room.

"I can't help it." Petra sighed as the woman who had taken such good care of her sat down by her bedside. It would still take a few more days for her leg to heal, but she would be back on her feet and out there with the rest of them before she knew it.

"There's no way that I could possibly know what you're going through." Petra's doctor was the tallest woman she had ever met, save for her best friend.

"You said your sister was in the Garrison, right?" she asked. "Don't you ever worry about her?"

"There are times when I do, but you have to swear not to tell her I said that", the doctor admitted before giving Petra an intimidating look that reminded her of Captain Levi. Though the difference in height was enormous, there were certain things that the two of them had in common.

"I understand", Petra said with a smile. She was used to dealing with the Captain, so this was nothing. "I'm forever grateful to you. You did an amazing job fixing me up so quickly."

"You made a good choice, coming to me for treatment. Failure isn't something that's tolerated in my family, so I take immense pride in the work that I do."

"As you should. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done."

The doctor stared at Petra with pale green eyes that reminded her of Leanne's darker ones, and she turned toward the room's lone window yet again.

"Is there anything in particular that you'd like to talk about?"

This question surprised Petra, who had not thought of her doctor as the chatty type. The two of them had rarely spoken to each other for more than a few minutes at a time. It was apparently a very slow day in terms of actual medical work.

"Nothing out of the ordinary", she joked. "My friends are all out there beyond the walls, risking their lives, while I'm stuck here, unable to do anything other than think about them. So it's a pretty average day for me, if you get what I'm saying."

"That certainly seems like a predicament." The doctor thought for a few moments before continuing. "The one you call your best friend… Leanne, was it?"

"Yeah, that's right. She and I haven't spoken much recently, but I still think of her as a sister."

"That's not quite something I'm familiar with." Petra's doctor crossed her legs and sighed. "My sister and I weren't always the closest of friends when we were younger. She and I also haven't seen a great deal of each other since our childhood. I studied hard to get to where I am right now, and she decided to take her talents to the military."

"I'm sorry to hear that", Petra said sincerely. "Even though Leanne and I chose the same path, we've moved at different speeds. I was chosen to join the Levi Squad, and she was left out. I used to wish that the Captain would have chose her instead of that annoying punk, Auruo."

"Try not to get so riled up, Petra", the doctor advised. "You need to stay in a resting position."

"I know, I know." Petra stared at her hand with a sheepish grin. If she looked close enough, she could barely make out the bite mark that still remained etched into her skin.

"Now, this Auruo fellow that you mentioned", continued the doctor. "What's he like?"

"He's always trying to imitate the Captain", she replied, practically shuddering at the thought. "He says all these weird things and keeps trying to annoy me, but he's good at his job so we all just make it a point to ignore him. But it's easier said than done. I've known him since we were trainees together, but he's gotten worse and worse since then, especially since we both got chosen for the Levi Squad. That was when he got truly unbearable."

"You have quite a lot to say about a man you claim to despise", her doctor mused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Boys will be boys, Petra. My younger brother annoyed my sister and I every day during our childhood. But it was only because he cared deeply about the both of us."

"Auruo isn't like that", Petra replied. "You can't seriously think he cares about me at all."

"You said that the two of you have known each other for years now. If he's stayed by your side for that entire time, it seems to me as though he cares about you a good deal."

"I don't even know what to think right now."

"Good. You don't have to think. Get some rest, and heal your leg."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks a lot, Dr. Drake."

_Nap and Mikasa, Year 850_

They had not spoken since their arrival at the rendezvous point. Together they had departed along with the rest of the Survey Corps, and at the present time they were sitting together in the back of a cart with Eren's unconscious body lying between them.

Nap remembered the smell of death from his time in Trost. It wafted through the air around him, emanating from the bodies that were piled in the surrounding carts. It was likely that Leanne's body was among them, along with Auruo's, and Gunther's, and what remained of Eld's. All around him, heartbroken soldiers clenched their teeth and stared at nothing in particular.

Not long before, two foolhardy soldiers had gone back to retrieve the body of a friend who had been killed in the forest. They had succeeded in locating their fallen comrade, but they attracted a pair of Titans in the process. Nap and Mikasa had acted quickly enough to kill both of their pursuers, but not before the dead body had been lost and one of the two men eaten.

It had been a stupid decision, but Nap couldn't have blamed them even if he had wanted to.

"Eren!"

He was snapped out of his trancelike state by Mikasa's voice, and he turned to look at Eren just as the boy's eyes popped open. Nap hadn't even realized that he had been shaking and sweating in his sleep. It was a good thing that Mikasa was so attentive to Eren's every need.

Eren said nothing for a while, and only stared ahead with unmoving eyes and an open mouth. Mikasa whispered his name once more, at which point he sat up slowly and looked around.

"You shouldn't get up yet", she said softly. "Lie down."

Feeling as though he was intruding on a personal moment, Nap turned away again and stared out at the land behind the Survey Corps' convoy.

"What about the Female?" Eren wasted no time getting down to business.

"We had to let her go", Mikasa replied.

"Why? All of those people… What about the mission?"

"It failed. Now get some rest."

Nap snuck a peek at Eren, who wore a look of complete disgust.

"Did you rescue me again?"

Mikasa pulled her scarf up toward her face. Nap had never learned the full story of their relationship, but even he knew how much Eren hated to be taken care of by her.

"It was my idea."

They both looked toward Nap, Eren seeming to notice him for the first time.

"Mikasa told me that you'd be able to handle the Female Titan on your own, but I insisted on helping you. Don't blame her for this, because she had complete faith in you."

"Is that true?" He looked to her for confirmation, which she gave with a slow nod of her head.

"I ended up being right in the end", Nap continued. "Your opponent was too much for you, so we had to step in and help. Mikasa fought bravely for your sake."

He knew that Eren was still unable to remember most of the events that occurred while he was in his Titan form, so that was as vague an explanation as he could have given.

"All of this happened because I wasn't strong enough." Eren pounded his fist on the side of the cart in frustration. "If only I had taken her out the first time we fought! Then none of our friends would have had to die. I'm sick of feeling like such a failure."

"It's not your fault, Eren." Mikasa tried to calm him, to no avail.

"If anything, it's my fault." Nap once again drew the attention of them both. "I'm not going to sit around and feel sorry about what I did, but I can at least acknowledge it. It's my fault that the mission failed, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make up for it."

"At the end of the day, that's all we can really hope for", Mikasa agreed, turning back to Eren.

This seemed to do the trick, as Eren nodded to himself and stared at his own feet for a while as the three of them remained silent. Nap was unsure of how long it was before he remembered the mission that Captain Levi had assigned to him before their departure.

"I have something I need to give you."

Eren once again looked up as Nap reached inside of his jacket and produced the small piece of fabric he had been carrying since the Captain entrusted it to him.

"This belonged to Leanne", he said simply, handing the badge to Eren.

His whole body trembling, the boy who had woken up only minutes earlier took the memento and held it with both hands. Nap was anything but surprised when tears emerged from his eyes.

"Eren, you're crying." Mikasa stated the obvious and attempted to wipe his face with her scarf, but her hand was swatted away. She looked toward Nap for support, but he shook his head.

"You should give that to Petra the next time you see her", said the Crimson Arrow. "I have a feeling she'll need it more than either of us."

The three sat in silence for most of the remainder of the ride. Nap no longer felt like an outsider among the group. Eren was his friend too, after all. As for Mikasa… She was something else. It was likely that she too felt the same mixture of feelings toward the boy she had fought with and against over the past three years. He couldn't blame her if she indeed despised him.

"This is all because I failed to do my one job", Eren said after a while. "I swear I'll kill her the next time around. I'll rip her to shreds as payback for everything she's done."

"I don't think it'll be that easy, Eren", Nap responded. "But you won't have to do it alone. I have your back, and obviously Mikasa does too. Same with Armin, and Miranda, and even Jean. We'll stand with you no matter who we have to face. That's a promise."


	17. Sting of Defeat Pt 1: Waste of Time

_Leanne and Eren, Year 850_

"You shouldn't pick at it, Eren", Leanne advised. "It'll heal on its own, right?"

"Yeah, that's true." Eren took his hand away from his chest, which was still producing blood and a small amount of steam, even several minutes after it had been torn open.

Leanne stood guard by the staircase leading out of the dungeon, while Eren lay on one of the saddest excuses for a bed that the elegant woman had ever seen. The wounds that he had suffered during their experiment had mostly healed, save for the one on the right side of his chest. Captain Levi had told them to meet up with the rest of the squad once Eren was healthy.

The daily regimen that was enforced by the Captain hadn't been kind to Leanne. She was utterly and completely exhausted at the end of each day, and the current one was no exception. But with only a few days left until the expedition, she had no time to sleep.

"Do you feel anything when you're inside of your Titan?" Leanne asked out of nowhere.

"I can't really remember what it's like", admitted the green-eyed boy.

"That's a shame." She crossed her arms as she leaned back against the stone wall. "If we knew what it was like to be a Titan, maybe we'd develop some sympathy for those assholes."

"You want to feel sympathy for the monsters that destroyed our home?" Eren sat up, his eyes lighting up with anger at the very thought of such a ridiculous notion.

"I'm not saying we should throw a party and let them eat cake", clarified Leanne. "It's just a bit troubling that we know so little about them, yet we've dedicated our lives to killing them. When I was younger, I never would have thought twice about it, but now…"

"How can you talk like that?" Eren struggled to choke out his words amid the rage that was building up inside of him. "The Titans killed your whole family. You made a promise to Petra that you would wipe them all out. Have you abandoned that promise?"

"It's not that simple, kid." It would be difficult for the green-eyed woman to explain her way of thinking to him. She knew exactly what it was like to be in his position, and she had not been the most reasonable young girl back in the day. Swearing revenge on the Titans had been the turning point of her life, and the promise she made to Petra was one that she still planned on keeping. But she couldn't let this boy travel down that same path.

"There's no point in dedicating your life to revenge, Eren."

"What do you mean? Isn't that what you've done this entire time?"

"There's a part of me that still thinks that way, I'll admit. But there's so much more to live for that it's honestly just a waste of time. Live for yourself. Live for your friends, and for your family, and for everything that you love. Don't live for some meaningless purpose like revenge, Eren."

_Nap, Year 850_

"What business do you have here, soldier?"

Napoleon Pixis cocked an eyebrow and examined the man in front of him. Wearing the uniform of the Military Police, he looked like the type of slacker that Nap had come to associate with that particular regiment. But Nap could not afford to play around, because this man stood in front of the door that led to a room containing the one person he desperately needed to speak to.

"I was sent by Commander Smith of the Survey Corps", Nap answered calmly. "He asked me to bring news of the situation, straight from the source."

"Make it quick", grumbled the guard. "There's someone else already in there, just so you know."

The officer stepped aside and allowed Nap to enter the room as the golden-eyed boy began to wonder exactly who this other visitor was. He paused briefly at the entrance to ask one more question to the beleaguered guard.

"You wouldn't happen to know of someone named Annie Leonhardt, would you? She joined your regiment only about a month ago, but I just wanted to be sure."

"Leonhardt?" The officer thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Never heard of anyone by that name. But if she's a rookie, she probably got assigned to Stohess with the rest of them, under the command of Captain Stendahl."

"Thanks for your help", Nap said before turning and walking through the open door.

"What are you doing here, Nap?" asked Armin Arlert, rising from his seat beside Eren's bed. There were no windows in the dusty room, but Nap could make out everything rather clearly.

"I could ask you the same thing, Armin", Nap countered, raising his right hand as he greeted his two comrades. "But it's actually a good thing that you're here. It saves me the trouble of having to seek you out myself, so I guess I'm ahead of schedule now."

"Why were you looking for us in the first place?" Eren inquired, sitting at the edge of the poorly-made bed. The Military Police had certainly not been kind to their pseudo-prisoner.

"It's simple, really." The Crimson Arrow crossed his arms in front of his chest and took a deep breath. He still despised the tacky nickname that Miranda had given him, but he knew that he was stuck with it for now. "I wanted to talk to you about the Female Titan. I know who she is."

_Katya, Year 850_

Nothing had changed. She had risen through the ranks of the Garrison to become a Squad Leader, but she still failed to capture the attention of the one she craved it from most. It was not as if Katya had been expecting anything else, but her predicament angered her nonetheless.

"Squad Leader Drake?"

She was different. She always had been. Different from them, and from everyone around her. Ever since that day, Katya had been an outsider, even to the Drake family itself.

"Squad Leader Drake?"

Even Anton, the renowned blowhard and the Drake family's resident disappointment, had effortlessly gained the respect of their sister. Despite this, Franziska Drake would not even acknowledge the existence of her youngest sibling. Katya grew sick with disgust.

"Squad Leader Drake?"

Katya spun around as soon as she registered Ava Miller's third attempt to get her attention. She shook the cobwebs out of her head and took in the sight of the unassuming blonde girl, who appeared before her with a healthy arm for the first time.

"I apologize, Ava", Katya said with a poorly-attempted smile. "It's been a long several days for me, and I'm sure it's been the same for you. How is your recovery going?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Ava saluted with her fully-healed arm. "As of today, I'm ready to join your squad on a full-time basis. My arm is no longer an issue."

"I'm glad to hear that", said the Squad Leader, motioning for Ava to follow her out of the dusty room. "The work ethic among your peers has been a bit lacking in your absence."

"I can understand why", said the girl with very little emotion in her voice.

Katya chastised herself for being so uncaring. She had spent so much time dwelling on her own petty issues that she had forgotten all about the problems that afflicted those around her. Ava's broken arm was only the tip of the iceberg in that regard.

"Is Hilde holding up okay?" asked Ava, as if she had read Katya's mind.

"You heard, did you?" News travelled faster than even she could keep up with, apparently. "It's difficult for me to formulate an opinion on the matter. On one hand, she's a soldier. Death should come as no surprise to her. On the other hand… He was her own brother."

She had never met Gunther Schultz in her life, but she had heard great things about the elite soldier from the Scouts. If he was anything like his younger sister, Katya had thought, she would have enjoyed the chance to meet him. But that chance would never come.

Gunther, along with dozens of other soldiers, had been killed during the last expedition. As a result, the Survey Corps had lost custody of Eren Jaeger until an opportunity came for Commander-in-Chief Zackly to reevaluate the boy's position. What mattered most to Katya, however, was that Nap Pixis had survived. She would not have been able to sleep at night knowing that the Commander's grandson had died without her having repaid her debt to him.

"Come with me", she said to Ava, putting on a happy face despite everything. "The rest of your squadmates are at the top of the wall. You should join them."

"Yes, sir", said Ava obediently as the two of them began to walk together. "If you don't mind me asking, have you heard anything about what's going to happen to Eren Jaeger?"

"You sound like you're awfully worried about the Titan boy." Katya shot her an inquisitive look. "You two were trainees together, right? Do you have some kind of crush on him?"

"That's neither here nor there", Ava said unconvincingly, shifting her eyes away from Katya.

The Squad Leader simply nodded, her suspicions confirmed.

_Nap and Armin, Year 850_

The silence between the two boys as they passed by the guard was a necessary one. Nap knew that Armin needed a bit of time to process what he had just heard, and so he had asked him to walk with him as they exited the building where Eren was being humanely confined.

"Do you really think it will work?" Armin finally asked.

"If you can think of any way to improve the plan, I'm all ears", Nap replied. He respected Armin's opinion a great deal, even more than his own in some ways.

"I still can't believe I didn't realize it was her." He shook his head in disappointment. "From what Miranda said, the Female Titan responded to Bertolt's voice when he told her not to kill Jean. It may have been a stretch at the time, but I had a hunch that it wasn't a coincidence."

"You think she recognized Bertolt's voice in particular?"

"I'm not sure it had anything to do with Bertolt specifically, but now that I know what I know, it's clear that she definitely made a point to listen for someone from our trainee group. Someone who knew Eren, and who had figured out where he was being hidden by the Commander."

"So she had an accomplice", Nap deduced. "Or maybe more than one. That means that even after we've taken her down, this whole charade won't be anywhere close to over."

"For the moment, we should focus on what we know", reasoned Armin. "Annie is the Female Titan, and it's our job to stop her. Anything else can wait until later."

Nap nodded in agreement. He had been right to trust Armin, not that he had doubted himself for a second. Eren would be a harder beast to tame, on the other hand. He hadn't taken the news well, and Nap still had no idea if the Rogue Titan would be able to fight against Annie.

"You're a selfish bastard, Armin. But I don't blame you, not one bit."

Armin stopped his feet and stared up at Nap with a confused look on his face. They had almost reached the exit, but this statement warranted more contemplation.

"Where did that come from?" asked Armin.

"Nowhere in particular", Nap said with an empty look. "I'm surprised I said it myself. But half of me thinks you're as much of a monster as any of those Titans outside the walls."

"That makes sense." Armin turned away from Nap and stared ahead. His mind was clearly not entirely present. "In order to defeat a monster, you have to abandon your own humanity."

"I'm not sure I agree with that. If you abandon your humanity in order to beat a monster, what stops you from becoming a monster yourself?"

Nap began to walk once more, leaving Armin with one more piece of his philosophy.

"I plan on preserving my humanity at all costs, no matter how unrealistic that may seem. That being said, there are some aspects of humanity that aren't too far removed from monsters."

_Lara, Year 850_

Another day, another empty bottle for Lara Stendahl. Soon after her meeting with Langston she had sent one of the rookies, a snobby little punk named Boris, to fetch some of her preferred brand. She was all too glad to rid herself of the disgusting product supplied by Caleb Lynch.

Lara held her final empty glass in her left hand, staring straight through it and watching as it distorted the room behind it. The life of an officer in Stohess was an incredibly dull one, but it was all that was available to her for the time being. The boredom was a necessary sacrifice to make as she prepared to put her plan into action.

This exact boredom was interrupted as the door in front of her swung open with the force of a tempest. Lara cursed and dropped her glass on the table in front of her, where it shattered. She stepped back with a mix of shock and annoyance, before realizing who her guest was.

"I have returned, my love! This is I, Anton the Drake!"

"Anton!" Lara smiled in a manner that she saved only for those rare times when Anton was near. She quickly forgot about the broken glass and rushed to meet her significant other. "What are you doing in Stohess? I thought you were journeying to Trost while I was away."

"You should know by now, my dearest Lara, that a man such as myself acts in the most unpredictable ways imaginable", Anton said before kissing her hand. Her tanned face began to turn red as she pulled away from the lanky man she had chosen to be her partner.

"It's been far too long since I've seen you", she complained jokingly. As Langston adopted a different persona around Lara, so too did Lara around Anton. Her most enjoyable moments were those which she spent with the only son of the Drake family.

"Fear not, my love, for I have come for more than just a short time", said her beloved with a wag of his finger. "After all, I intend to be present when you finally make your move to capture this Titan I've heard so much about. I wouldn't miss it for all the world outside these walls."

It was true that Lara had shared her secret with Anton. What good was a companion, she thought, if you could not confide in them no matter what the situation? The unlikely pair had vowed to assist one another in reaching their goals, and Anton was not one to back down. That was one of the many things Lara admired about him, as well as something they had in common.

"Anton, I must ask…" For the first time, Lara noticed the device that adorned her boyfriend's waist. At first glance, it appeared to be some sort of Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear that he had been able to obtain through means unknown to her. But the hooks at the tips of the wires had been cut off and replaced with wooden carvings that somewhat resembled hands.

"You're curious about my attire, are you?" Anton gave his trademark cacophonous laugh. "Behold Titan 03's latest invention, the Three-Dimensional Power Pointer!"

"Power… Pointer?"

"I may as well give you a demonstration", he said with a feigned casual shrug. "Allow me to present the ultimate innovation in finger-wagging technology!"

Anton grabbed hold of the left operating device and took several elongated steps backward as he prepared to activate the strange item just as a soldier would go about activating traditional Maneuver Gear. He reached out toward Lara and launched the cable straight at her.

Lara stood unflinching as the wooden hand with the extended finger raced through the air toward her face, stopping just short of her nose. She could see that it was merely an extension of Anton's typical finger-pointing, and a dramatic one at that. The Captain had expected nothing less from the man she had chosen to spend her days with, as she knew all too well that Anton was always one to have a certain flair for the dramatic.

"As you can see, my love, this Power Pointer will revolutionize the ways in which I am able to conduct my business", Anton boasted, though Lara had no idea what he was talking about. She felt that way at times around him, but found it charming rather than annoying, unlike Katya.

"You said Fernando invented this tool, did you not?" she asked as he reeled in the Power Pointer to preserve it for further use in the future. "Will he be stopping by as well? It's been far too long since I've seen any of my fellow disciples."

"He most certainly will. Titan 02 is on her way to Orvud as we speak to retrieve the remainder of our group. Fernando and Sergey will be paying us a visit tomorrow, along with Cortney."

"That's great to hear." Lara meant every word she said to Anton. She had completely overcome her earlier boredom, something that he could always assist her with.

"My dearest Lara", Anton began, "There is nothing I would rather do than spend the remainder of my time here with you in my grasp, but there is business I must attend to in this city. I am a writer, after all, and one with papers to publish and bills to pay."

"I understand, my dear." She smiled as he held her in his bony arms for a few moments and stroked her silky brown hair. "We'll see each other again shortly?"

Anton nodded. "Indeed we will. There are more things in heaven and earth, Lara, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

With yet another nonsensical reference, he was gone.

_Nap, Miranda, and Jean, Year 850_

"Are you serious?" asked an exasperated Jean. "Are you really telling me you think it's her?"

"I have all the proof I need", Nap replied, sticking to his guns. "I trained with Annie every day for two years, and I know her fighting style almost as well as she does. There's no way it could have been anyone else. I'm absolutely sure of it."

Jean had at least taken the news better than Eren. While Armin had been relatively stunned by the revelation, he had been calm and receptive to the news while Eren was openly challenging and argumentative. Ultimately Nap had convinced both of them to assist with his plan, and he hoped to be able to do the same with the two soldiers he was speaking to at that moment.

"To be totally honest, I'm not that surprised", Miranda admitted with an exaggerated shrug. "Annie always smelled a little funny to me. And the Female Titan sure did look awfully familiar. I said the same thing to Bertl during the mission, but I don't think he believed me."

"Still, you must be crazy if you're accusing your best friend of something like this." Jean had a difficult time wrapping his head around the matter, and Nap could not blame him.

He ran a hand through the hair that had been gradually looking less and less Levi-esque in the weeks since it had been cut. While Nap held great respect for the Captain, there were some things he brought to the table that the boy could certainly have done without.

"I wouldn't be telling you this if I wasn't completely sure. As it stands now, the two of you are part of a select few that I can place absolute faith in without hesitation."

"For real?" Jean scowled and Miranda's eyes fluttered. "What makes you think you can trust us when you clearly can't even trust your closest friend?"

Truth be told, there was rarely a moment when Nap didn't doubt himself. He knew that he had a destiny to fulfill, but that didn't stop him from worrying over every little detail. He had talked the idea over with Armin, the boy whose strategic mind was quite possibly even greater than his own, but Nap still had no idea whether or not his plan would work.

"I wasn't sure about you at first, Jean", Nap answered honestly. "But ever since Marco's death, you've been like a completely different person. You're strong now, and you've dedicated your life to making sure that you make him proud. That's why I know you won't let me down."

"Whatever you want to believe", scoffed the horse-faced boy, but he protested no further.

"So, what about me?" Miranda asked curiously. "Why do you trust me so much?"

"It's simple, Miranda. You're too careless to be working in league with our enemies. If you had any secrets, we all would have found them out long ago, believe me."

She smiled innocently and pleasured herself with the thought that he was so wrong, yet so right.

"I know that my trust isn't misplaced", Nap continued strongly. "The two of you care deeply about the fate of humanity and about each other. Will you stand with me, then?"

There was a long pause as Miranda tapped her index finger against her lips impatiently and Jean actually tried to make sense of what he had been dragged into.

"Why don't you tell us your plan, first of all?" Jean finally asked. "Then we can decide if we want to follow you into battle or not. How does that sound, Crimson Arrow?"

"Of course." Nap nodded, as he had planned to explain himself from the beginning. "But I'll need to make it quick. There's one more person I need to speak to before I leave for Stohess."

_Petra, Year 850_

It was almost comical how similar her reaction had been.

When Leanne had gotten word of her family's death, she had been more angry than sad. Petra never saw her shed a single tear. With a dry face, Leanne had made a vow to seek revenge on the monsters that had taken away everything she knew. For five years, Petra had done all that she could to help her keep that promise. Now she could do no more.

Leanne Fawkes was dead. The wrinkled badge in Petra's hand was proof enough of that. But she could not find the strength to cry, no matter how much she wanted to or felt as though she had to. All she could think about was vengeance.

Before Eren broke the news to her, Petra hadn't even been aware that Leanne was chosen as her replacement. She wasn't sure how she would have reacted had she heard about it sooner, but at that point it didn't matter. Leanne was gone forever, along with Auruo, Gunther, and Eld.

Her world would never be the same, but she could still not find it in her to shed even one drop.

"How is your leg feeling?"

Petra took her eyes off the badge in her hand. She had completely forgotten about Franziska Drake's presence, but she tried her best to regain her composure as the doctor took a few steps in her direction, wearing a look of pity that she knew all too well.

"It feels better than it's felt in a really long time", Petra replied, but her voice carried not one bit of the enthusiasm that her words seemed to imply.

"That's great news." Dr. Drake tried to keep her spirits up, but being in the presence of someone in Petra's state made that a truly difficult task even for the experienced doctor.

Petra didn't care to say anything more. Her eyes drifted back to the badge in her hand as the doctor continued to look down at her. She knew that Franziska was only trying to help, as she had done so often during Petra's stay in her care, but there was nothing to be done. The world as Petra knew it would never be the same. Not just anyone could understand such a matter.

"It's not wrong to feel bad, Petra."

These words came from someone who understood all too well. Just as she had forgotten about the doctor's presence, Petra had also lost track of the man who had recently been moved into her room. The man who had done so much for her that she had never been able to repay him.

"I thought I told you to go to sleep, Levi", Franziska scolded. "You've been awake ever since you got here. Your wound won't heal properly if you keep this up."

"I thought I told you I don't sleep", replied the Captain, who had been sharing the room with Petra ever since he had gotten back from the expedition. Up until that point, she hadn't heard him speak a single word to her since he appeared in the bed next to hers.

"You've been one of the most difficult patients I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with." Franziska's patience was clearly wearing rather thin. "You didn't even give me a last name when you came in. What do you expect me to do with just the name 'Levi', huh?"

"We've been over this. I don't have a last name", Levi said adamantly, clashing with the doctor just as he clashed with Titans outside the walls. "You speak pretty rudely for the daughter of a nobleman, not to mention a doctor. Where's your bedside manner?"

"I'll show you bedside manner!" Dr. Drake marched over to Levi's bed and began to pinch his eyes shut with her fingers. Petra was astonished by the fact that someone was actually trying to lay hands on the Captain. Franziska's bravery did not go unnoticed.

Unsure of why this particular interaction caused her walls to break down, Petra Ral began to cry.

Levi and Franziska ceased their bickering as soon as they became aware of the tears that had taken far too long to emerge from Petra's eyes. The two of them stayed silent for as long as it took. The only sound that filled the room was the one emanating from the red-haired girl.

Eld Jinn, Gunther Schultz, Auruo Bossard, and Leanne Fawkes. They had all been taken from her for no reason at all. In a world with no justice, she would have to create her own. She would do it, for only she could do it. She would avenge them all, or she would die trying.

For the first time since she had met the boy, she truly understood Eren Jaeger.

_Nap and Mikasa, Year 850_

"Are you sure you want to go through with this without telling Commander Erwin?"

"I have to. You're one of only a handful of people I can trust."

Mikasa frowned, showing a hint of emotion for the first time during their conversation.

"I'm surprised you have so little faith in the Commander. Judging from what I heard about the events in the forest, I'm not sure you have any respect for his authority at all."

"I never was great at following orders. That's just the way I am."

"I can relate to that. If I were in your position, I would probably be doing the same thing. But I don't know if I'd ever be able to fight someone that close to me."

Nap shifted his position against the wall he was leaning on. He could tell she was thinking about Eren. It seemed that he was all she could ever think about, and Nap couldn't blame her.

"I guess it's a good thing you and Annie hate each other, right?"

"From the very start, I thought there was something wrong with her. Turns out I was right."

"Even from the very start, huh? Did you feel the same way about me, then?"

She shook her head, her chin moving across the top of her red scarf.

"I never thought you were anything like her. You're a genuine person, and you actually care about the people around you. You even somehow brought yourself to care about her."

"I'm not sure I appreciate the way you talk about her, Mikasa."

"Are you still going to defend her after everything she's done? She pretended to be your friend for five years, and she killed dozens of your comrades. She even tried to kidnap Eren."

"I just can't make a final decision until I talk it over with her first. Remember what I told you earlier. I don't want any of you to move in until you absolutely have to."

"Are you sure you'll be able to fight once you know for certain that it's her?"

Nap was sixteen years old, so it was perfectly natural for him to be feeling this way around a girl. But it was getting harder and harder for him to contain himself around her. Just once, he wanted to be able to feel her skin pressing against his own. But there was no time to satisfy his cravings. Even he could admit that his taste in women was objectively horrible.

"I doubt I'll be able to do it alone. Annie has been too important to me for too long. I would never be able to fight at full strength against her without you there by my side."

She paused, her eyebrows forming a peak in the middle of her forehead.

"Why me?"

Nap gave a rare meaningful smile. Even he didn't know why he had started caring so deeply for her. The two of them were so similar, he just couldn't help himself.

"You're the only person I know who cares about someone the way I care about her."

Mikasa fell silent for another moment. She took in the comment, but declined to respond.

"Eren is being shipped out in two days, right?"

"That's what I heard. Because of that, we'll need to take action first thing tomorrow. Sorry I have to ask you to babysit both of us, but I guess you're taking over the Captain's job for now."

"I don't mind, as long as we get to tear apart that Female Titan once and for all."

Nap smiled to himself as he imagined Miranda telling him to keep it in his pants again. It was foolish of him to think such things about Mikasa, but he was a sucker through and through. First Annie, and now her… That was all the proof that he needed.

_Commander Erwin, Year 850_

"Have you been able to find any clues regarding the identity of the Female Titan?" Erwin Smith's voice carried a hint of impatience, but he was otherwise adept at concealing his emotions.

"None at all", replied Hange with a shake of her head. "I never even got a peek at the person inside. There was too much steam in the area from all the other dead Titans."

"What about you, Mike?" The Commander was grasping at straws, looking for any possible way to convince his superiors that the mission had been successful. If he was unable to find anything of value, there was a very real chance that Eren Jaeger would be taken away and executed by the Military Police. It went without saying that Erwin could not allow that to happen.

"I couldn't smell anyone unfamiliar", said Mike with a look of mild dismay.

"That's not something I can fault you for." Erwin hadn't expected either one of them to be of any help, but he was quickly running out of options. "Nanaba and Brendan, you two were standing guard outside the forest. Did any of the rookies behave strangely at any time?"

"Not as far as I saw", answered the angelic Nanaba.

"Sieyes was acting pretty weird, but that's nothing out of the ordinary for her", said Brendan.

The four Squad Leaders had done nothing to point Erwin in the right direction, but he could not blame them for not seeing what was not in front of their eyes. It had been his plan that failed, in the end, and that had been because of…

"Hange, do you think Nap might know more than he's been letting on?"

"I've thought about it." Hange's eyebrows formed a groove beneath her thick glasses. "But he never seemed to know what was going on during our experiments. He started freaking out as soon as I discovered that his body was different. I don't think he's hiding anything."

Another dead end. Lately, it had been nothing but dead ends for Erwin Smith and the Scouts.

_Miranda and Jean, Year 850_

"Do you think he'll be able to do it?"

"You mean Nap?" Miranda appeared to ponder the question for a moment. "I wouldn't worry about him if I were you, Jean-boy. He may not be as manly and virile as you are, but he knows what he's doing, and he's at least a pretty good fighter."

"That's the understatement of the year", Jean remarked as the two of them searched the crowd of soldiers for any sign of the girl with the eyepatch. "Why did he want us to help him? What exactly do you and I bring to the table that would bring him any closer to taking her down?"

"Don't ask me, I don't have a clue." She had several clues, but like most other things she had made the choice to keep them to herself. "If the Crimson Arrow decided to trust us, we should trust him. He's a brainiac like Armin, but he's as good of a fighter as Mikasa. I'd say he's the total package, except he's not nearly as romantic as you."

"When are you going to cut that out?"

She laughed noisily and rested an arm on his shoulder as she leaned in toward his face.

"What's wrong? Are you worried your precious Mikasa will find out you have a girlfriend?"

He took a break from his search for Abigail and glared at her. She put on an innocent smile as she waved at him, not backing down at all.

"Sorry to say it, but you've got some competition. And I'm not just talking about Eren."

"Shut up. I'm done talking to you about this. We're here for a reason."

"Whatever you say, baby."

_Nap, Year 850_

Wall Sina was exactly as Nap remembered it. When he left five years ago with Anka, he had hoped that he would be free for good. Looking back on things, he realized that he had been extremely young and foolish back then. No more proof was needed than the girl he had made friends with on that day. His life had been changed forever the moment he sat down next to her.

Annie Leonhardt was both an enemy and a friend. Depending on how their conversation went later that day… He didn't want to think about it. Nap tried to focus his mind on the task at hand, but everything that had happened began to catch up with him as he walked.

So many people had been lost to the Titans that it was difficult to count them all. He had only known a few of them personally, but the casualties impacted the lives of every person still alive within the walls, without exception. That was why Nap had to continue to fight.

He had to fight for his father, Stan Pixis, who had been killed before even meeting his son. For Eren's mother, and Armin's grandfather, and everyone lost during the pathetic mission to retake Wall Maria that resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths.

He had to fight for Rita Hermann, and everyone else lost during their trainee days. Not everyone had been fortunate enough to make it out of there alive, but none of them had lived their lives in vain. Nap would make sure of it, or die trying.

He had to fight for all of the friends he had lost in Trost. Thomas, killed almost immediately by the aberrant. Mylius, eaten messily by the seven-meter class. Jacob and Franz, devoured by the ravenous crawler. Ellen and Selim, torn to bits by the brown-haired Titan with the insane look in its eyes. Nack and Tom and Nathan and Ruth and Erik and Johann, and Marco Bott, the smiling freckled prodigy who was taken far too soon.

He had to fight for Mina Carolina, the girl he had fallen in love with only to have her die before he had the chance to tell her. The poetic justice made him sick to his stomach. He thought he saw her face in a Titan later on, and that moment was the first time he had felt as though he was simultaneously erratic and in complete control.

He had to fight for Ian and Mitabi, and the rest of the elite soldiers who had given their lives to make sure Eren managed to seal the gate. Their bravery, and the bravery of others like them, had resulted in humanity's first victory against the Titans, and Nap would make sure that it was the first of a great many. Katya and Langston had almost ended up sharing their fate, but Nap had made sure that neither of them had to suffer an unnecessary death.

He had to fight for the Levi Squad. The four soldiers that he had trained with for a month, only to find out that they were only his babysitters. Eld, Gunther, Auruo and Leanne. They had placed their faith in him, and he had done the same, but both sides had let the other down. Because of that, and because of him, the expedition had failed, and he had been forced to create this plan.

But more so than that, he had to fight for the people who were still alive. He had to fight for his grandfather, and for Anka and Gustav and Otto and Wilhelm. He had to fight for the people he had known since his trainee days, who he had fought side-by-side with for years. Connie and Sasha, and Reiner and Bertolt, and Christa and Ymir. He had to fight for Victor and Ava and Hilde and Jericho, and Katya and Rico and even Captain Verman.

As much as he resented them for not trusting him, he had to fight for Levi and Erwin. He had to fight for Hange and Moblit and Keiji and Nifa and the man only known as Goggles. He had to fight for Mike and Petra, and for the rest of the Survey Corps who had survived the last mission and remained hopeful for the future.

There were some people who were unable to fight beside him, and so he had to fight for all of them as well. He had to fight for Keith Shadis, who had made Nap's life hell for three years in hopes that it would pay off in moments like the present one. He had to fight for the families of every one of his friends. Jean's mother in Trost, Sasha's father back in her hunting village, Langston's mother in the interior, even the Carolinas. Especially the Carolinas.

His few trusted companions were the ones he had to fight for most of all. He had to fight for Langston, who had chosen a different life, and Abby, who at that moment was preparing to do her best impression of Eren. He had to fight for Jean and Miranda, though he had not always gotten along with the two of them. He had to fight for Eren and Armin, who were having almost as hard of a time with this as he was. And he had to fight for Mikasa, the girl he had developed feelings for at the worst possible time, though he had no regrets in that regard.

There was no denying that he also had to fight for Annie. She was his best friend, and even the fact that she was a Titan could not get in the way of that. No matter how much he wanted to, Nap could not bring himself to hate her. So yes, despite every bit of evil that had been caused by Titans like Annie Leonhardt, he had to fight for her.

But more than anything, he had to fight for himself.


	18. Sting of Defeat Pt 2: The Whole Truth

_Langston and Lara, Year 845_

"You're not even going to tell me why you're leaving?"

The fury that Langston felt was an unfamiliar one. He had rarely gotten angry in the ten years he had been alive, and he had certainly never thought to act out against his own sister.

"It's not something that I'm able to reveal", Lara said simply. All of the things she had brought with her to Mitras were packed in a single leather bag that sat on the ground at her feet. The newly-reassigned woman crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at her brother.

"How can you do this when I've finally started to get to know you after so long?"

"This isn't my choice, Langston. Please believe me." The two siblings shared the same hazel eyes, and Lara's were not the eyes of a liar. "I'm doing this out of necessity."

Langston bit his lip while he watched the sister he barely knew, as she turned around and began to walk away. Even after the two of them had finally gotten to be real, genuine siblings to each other after so many years, she still lacked the ability to tell him everything.

"The next time I see you, I want to know the whole truth."

"That's not a promise I can make, little brother."

_Langston and Annie, Year 850_

"Did you say something, Annie?"

"No. I thought you did."

Langston shrugged and looked around him for the source of the voice he thought he had heard. He saw no one, and shook himself off before returning to reality.

"How close are we to our destination?" he asked out of curiosity and not much else.

"I'm not sure", she replied. "If there were any people around, we could ask for directions, but for some reason this whole street is deserted."

Annie and Langston had been sent by Captain Stendahl to investigate a disturbance in one of the neighborhoods in the eastern part of Stohess. They carried their rifles on their backs as usual, and the morning sun shone down on them as they walked through the city.

"Hey, do you remember the night we first met?" Langston asked with a slightly nervous smile.

"You came up and sat at our table", replied Annie as if answering a question on a quiz.

"Yeah, that's right." He laced his fingers together behind his head. "Back then, I was still calling myself Langston Pyrite. I was so nervous when I sat down that I was literally shaking. But you and Nap and Mina… You all made me feel at home. I've been thankful ever since."

"I'm glad you think I'm such a good person."

"I always have. Anyone who's such great friends with Nap can't exactly be bad."

Langston still believed this with all of his heart, even after what his sister had told him. Lara had done her best to convince him that Annie was an enemy, but he refused to believe her despite all of the evidence that the Captain had thrown in his face. Annie was his friend, end of story. Nap trusted her, and Mina had trusted her, so Langston had grown to trust her as well. There was no way he could abandon that trust so easily, even as a result of his sister's best efforts.

_Nap, Year 850_

Napoleon Pixis walked down the hall as if he were walking to a funeral. In some ways, he supposed, that may have been somewhat close to the truth. No matter what occurred later that day, there was a very real possibility that he would have to kill Annie Leonhardt. He only hoped that he would have the balls to do it if it really came to that.

It hadn't been easy, but he had reached Stohess and gained access to the district's Military Police's base of operations. He had no idea what to expect when he finally came face-to-face with Captain Stendahl, but he would do everything in his power to persuade her to follow through with his plan. He would have to explain to her the consequences of failure to comply.

He knocked twice on the door at the end of the hallway. Almost immediately, a woman's voice beckoned him to enter, and so he did.

"You're Captain Lara Stendahl, correct?" asked Nap as soon as he crossed the threshold.

"That's a mighty serious accusation, considering you're the one walking into my office", replied the woman who practically oozed power and influence as she put down an empty glass.

"Forgive my attitude, but I have to get down to business sooner or later." He hadn't expected a Captain in the Military Police to be so collected, but he hoped that this fact would only help him in his endeavor. "My name is Nap Pixis. I'm from the Survey Corps."

"Pixis, huh? Don't tell me you're related to that old buffoon who commands the Garrison. He's not the type of man I'd normally consider doing business with."

"Yes, Commander Pixis is my grandfather. But I'd rather not be compared to him."

"I can certainly get behind that." Lara chuckled and filled her glass with dark alcohol from the bottle on her desk. "My grandfather was in the Garrison too, you know, but he was such a fool that I don't exactly take kindly to being mentioned in the same breath as him."

Lara Stendahl may have been badmouthing Nap's grandfather, but from what he had seen of her so far, the Captain was more similar to the old man than she realized.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself, Nap Pixis", she said as she returned the bottle to its original location. "My name is Lara Olivier Stendahl, and I don't tolerate nonsense. Now what do you wish to discuss? It must be important, considering you came all the way here."

"It's extremely important." Nap was quickly taking a liking to Captain Stendahl. If he played his cards right, he was sure he could turn her into a valuable ally. "I bring knowledge about the Female Titan that attacked during my regiment's last expedition. I believe the person inside of that Titan is currently hiding in Stohess, under your command."

Nap had needed to get it all out as quickly as possible, and he had done so. What Lara did from here on out was her own choice, and he hoped that it would be a beneficial one for him.

"I'm terribly sorry", said the Captain after a few seconds of staring at him. "Why should I care?

"Forgive me, but I was expecting you to be more surprised by the news that a Titan is living under your very nose." Nap couldn't remember ever feeling more confused than he did in that moment. Why was Lara not shocked by this revelation?

"Do you take me for some kind of fool, Pixis?" She narrowed her hazel eyes and smirked. "I already know that Annie Leonhardt is the Female Titan. You're a bit late to the party."

"You know her identity?" Nap had donned his Maneuver Gear in preparation, and he almost pulled out his blades right then and there. "Are you working with her?"

"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions", Lara said calmly. "I'm just a perceptive person, much like yourself. You and I should be able to get along just fine, Napoleon Pixis."

Nap tried to gather his composure after the tables had unexpectedly been turned on him. He had planned on convincing Captain Stendahl to follow through with his plan, but now that he was aware of her in-depth knowledge of the subject, he was unsure of what to do.

"How is it that you know so much?" He asked again. "What is the Military Police hiding?"

"Even I don't know the full extent of what my regiment is hiding from the public." Lara waved him off and began to pour herself another drink. The resemblances between this woman and his grandfather were easy to see. "I didn't hear about Annie Leonhardt from someone in the Military Police. I merely stumbled upon her name when reading a diary belonging to one Irene Pixis."

Nap froze at the sound of that name.

"Irene Pixis? But why would you or Annie have anything to do with my mother?"

"You're a curious little boy, I'll give you credit for that." She tapped her knuckles on the edge of her desk. "I had just recently been promoted to the Inner District when the attack on Wall Maria occurred five years ago. You remember the one, don't you?"

"Do you take me for an idiot?" he asked the formidable woman.

"You mustn't take everything at face value, Pixis", Lara said with a wave of her index finger. "You certainly share my brother's distaste for my methods, that much I can tell."

"Will you get to the point?" Nap was quickly growing impatient. "Eren Jaeger is being moved to the Inner District tomorrow. If you don't assist me right now, he'll be taken by your superiors and executed. Is that really what you want to happen, Captain Stendahl?"

Lara downed her drink and shook her head, smiling to herself. How any human in existence could stand to inhale so much alcohol was a complete mystery to Nap.

"I assure you, Eren Jaeger will not be going anywhere. That's why you're here, I presume. If that's the case, go ahead and tell me your master plan, Napoleon Pixis."

_Langston and Annie, Year 850_

His mind was racing faster than an aberrant Titan. What the hell were they going to do now? It had happened so fast, and neither he nor Annie had been able to brandish a rifle fast enough to prevent the four men from surrounding them in the narrow alleyway.

Langston Stendahl prepared to face death.

"W-what do you want?" he asked desperately, looking around him for any hope of escape. He and Annie stood back to back, both of them unarmed against the pistol-wielding men.

"We want your money and your equipment", one of the men replied smugly. "If you hand it over, neither one of you will get hurt. That's a reasonable trade, right?"

Langston didn't believe him for a second, but he could see no other option. He felt Annie's back against his, moving up and down with the beating of her heart. He found it difficult to tell which heartbeat was faster, his or hers. Not that it mattered.

"W-why are you doing this?" All Langston could do was stall for time.

"Quit asking questions, boy", barked the same man. Clearly he was the one in charge, and he had seen right through Langston's plan. "We'll kill you if you try anything funny."

In all likelihood, the men were going to kill them regardless. There was no way out as far as he could tell. If it really was the end, he could only bury his regrets and die with a shred of dignity.

"Langston, on my signal, drop to the ground."

His eyes widened as he heard Annie whisper in his ear. None of the men surrounding them seemed to hear her words, but they certainly noticed the act.

"What are you trying to do?" jeered the man. "You're surrounded. There's no way out."

Langston's breathing grew faster and faster. Annie had the right idea, but he knew that it was a complete longshot. He had no clue as to what she was trying, but he had to have faith in her. Even after everything his sister had told him, he could not lose his trust in Annie, especially not in this situation. He needed to believe in his friend, no matter what Lara may have said.

"Now!" she yelled, and he immediately fell flat on his stomach.

_Nap and Lara, Year 850_

Captain Stendahl tapped her knuckles lightly on the edge of her desk as Nap waited patiently for her input. It hadn't taken long for him to lay out his ideas for her, but the hard part was yet to come. Lara first had to accept the parameters of his plan, and then she had to assist him in the implementation. A great deal hinged on her decision to help him or not. Whether or not she gave him the go-ahead, he was going to follow through, but he would have enjoyed her assistance.

"Are you positive we'll be able to do all of this without her getting suspicious?" asked the Captain. "Stohess is a rather large city, in case you haven't noticed. It won't be easy to get that many citizens out of here in only a few hours without raising some heads."

"I'll be distracting her the entire time." Nap had prepared every possible response to every possible question. "If I see her acting suspiciously, I'll tell them to move in ahead of schedule."

"These friends of yours, are you sure we can count on them?"

"I trust them with my life, and the lives of all of humanity", Nap replied confidently.

"I like your style, Pixis." Lara returned his look of confidence. "It's no wonder my brother took such a liking to you back when you were both trainees together."

"Your brother? Who is your-"

"My dearest Lara!"

Nap turned and Lara squealed in excitement as a lanky scarecrow of a man burst through the door, followed by three other figures who all greeted Lara with varying levels of intimacy. He was alarmed at the complete 180 that Lara's attitude had done upon their appearance.

"Anton! You brought the whole gang!"

The Captain rushed to greet the man at the front of the pack, who didn't seem to notice Nap at all. He was wearing what appeared to be some strange form of Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear, and his slender arms gave Lara a hug unlike any Nap had ever seen.

"Didn't he tell you we were coming?" asked one of the three other new arrivals, a woman of below-average height with an innocent freckled face. She looked at Lara with an expression full of admiration, as if the Captain was some sort of role model to this young woman.

"I didn't expect you to get here so soon!" Lara replied, the look of joy never disappearing from her face as she moved to greet each of the newcomers individually. "Cortney, Fernando, Sergey, it's so nice to finally see you all again. It's been at least a month, hasn't it?"

"That sounds about right", agreed a brawny man with sleek blonde hair, who Lara had addressed as Sergey. "The boss never even bothered to tell us why we were coming here."

"I canst not be false to any man, Sergey", the man called Anton said smugly. "Today is the one and only promised day, where we will take back what was once ours!"

"Captain Stendahl, what the hell is going on here?"

The other members of the room all paused what they were doing, as Lara finally remembered Nap's presence, and the rest of them seemed to notice him for the first time. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, and he wore a look of irritation on his worn-out face.

This strange cast of characters may have interrupted Nap's meeting with Lara, but they had succeeded in putting her in a better mood. Perhaps there was some way he could use their help as well, if it came down to that. For now, he needed to focus on her.

"Forgive me, Nap", apologized the Captain. "I was caught up for a moment in the sight of my old friends. Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself and your disciples, Anton?"

"Nothing would make me happier, my darling." Lara had referred to the man as her boyfriend, but Nap was unsure just what kind of relationship existed between the two of them. "I am Anton Clements, codename Titan 01, journalist extraordinaire and editor-in-chief of the Orvud Oracle. This lovely young woman is my trusted assistant, Cortney Warrington, codename Titan 02. Her wide variety of skills has proven truly invaluable to us, time and time again."

The woman with short, dark hair and a freckled face waved politely at Nap.

"This man is known as Titan 03, Fernando Tarrelind, resident tinkerer and inventor of the Power Pointer", Anton continued, gesturing toward an average-looking man with close-cropped black hair. "And seeing as how you're already acquainted with Titan 04, Lara Stendahl, I shall at last introduce you to Sergey Nettlerose, codename Titan 06, expert gatherer of information."

Nap looked the four misfits over slowly, noticing something strange about Fernando's face but not being able to pinpoint it. He nodded and looked back toward Anton. It was difficult to get an accurate read on the man, as his facial expression was constantly evolving.

"You sure you're comfortable revealing our identities like this, boss?" asked Sergey skeptically.

"That's a good point." Anton narrowed his eyes and tried his hardest to peer into Nap's very soul. "Who is this boy, Lara, and how do we know we can trust him?"

Nap turned to Lara, preparing to evaluate her reaction. He didn't know why, but he felt that these nutjobs would be necessary allies at some point, if the Captain supported him.

"You can trust him", Lara said with unwavering confidence. "His name is Napoleon Pixis. He's going to be working with me to defeat our enemy."

"Is that so?" A wry smile spread across Anton's face. "Well then, I suppose there is only one thing left to be done. I deem it necessary to induct you into my cult of personality."

"I'm sorry?" Nap wasn't easily confused, but Anton was clearly an expert. The lanky man took hold of an operating device attached to the Maneuver Gear at his waist and launched a cable toward Nap. The hand with the extended finger stopped just short of his face.

"I hereby dub thee Titan 08, Napoleon Pistols!"

_Langston and Annie, Year 850_

It took a minute for Langston to register everything that he had heard. He lay on his stomach, his hands covering his head and his eyes shut, wondering how in the world he was alive.

As soon as he hit the floor, he had heard a single gunshot, then another loud noise that he hadn't been able to identify. The noise was followed by a chorus of screams from the four men, and then he heard the sounds of their bodies dropping to the ground. After that, two more loud thuds, then nothing. He slowly opened his eyes, fearing the worst.

He first saw the two men he had been facing, both of them lying several meters away from him in pools of their own blood. Langston's heart began to beat faster and faster. He had only heard one gunshot. That much he was sure of. Then how could these men both be dead?

"Annie…"

She didn't respond, so Langston slowly turned his head to the right, looking for anything that could have killed the four men. Hoping for anything other than what he suspected. His body froze as soon as his eyes reached the murder weapon.

He stared in horror at the disfigured Titan hand that lay on the ground next to him.

"Annie…"

Once again, no response. Panicking, Langston turned his body to the left, and was greeted by the exact same sight. Another Titan hand, covered in the blood of Annie's victims.

Langston scrambled to his feet and faced Annie for the first time. She still had her back to him, and she didn't come close to saying a word. Steam was pouring forth from both of her hands, as well as the location where her right ear was busy regenerating itself.

At least he knew where the single bullet had gone.

"Annie… You're a monster."

She slowly turned away from the other two dead bodies and faced Langston. Tears were rolling down her face and splattering all over the ground at her feet. It would have been a pitiful sight under different circumstances, but in that moment Langston wasn't sure what to think.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant to get you involved in this."

Practically choking on her own words, Annie took a step toward him. Langston retreated in fear, backing away from her just as he had backed away the first time he laid eyes on a Titan in Trost. He recklessly backpedaled until he tripped over one of the bodies on the ground.

He fell flat on his rear end, looking up into the sopping wet face of Annie Leonhardt. For the first time, he noticed a silver ring on her finger, with a retractable spike that was now protruding from it. He quickly realized how perfect a tool it was for a despicable Titan like her. In the end, Lara had been right. This was the truth that she had hidden from him for so long, and when she did finally reveal it to him, he had been too much of a fool to believe her.

"Please forgive me, Langston."

He stared back at her with a fire in his eyes that she had only seen once before. For as long as she had known him, Annie had thought of Langston as a weak person like herself. Now, in what would be his final moments, he was doing everything in his power to prove her wrong.

"Go to hell, Titan."

With her face wrinkled in remorse, Annie pricked her finger on the tip of the spike.

_Lara and Anton, Year 850_

"Our finest hours are fast approaching, my dear." Anton poured himself a drink from Lara's seemingly endless supply. "Something is rotten in the town of Stohess."

"We've known that for a long time, haven't we?" Lara grinned slyly. "Though, that boy intrigues me. He came to me with knowledge of Annie's abilities. I'm not sure how he figured it out."

Nap had left to deliver news of the adjusted plan to his comrades, while Anton's friendly cast of characters had taken up posts throughout the town, slowly and inconspicuously working with the Military Police to evacuate a portion of the citizens. So far, all was going well for Lara.

"I too can't help but be mystified by Titan 08", noted Anton. "Napoleon Pictures has a certain aura to him, one that even an extraordinary human being such as myself can't quite place."

"I suppose that's true." Lara downed another sip. A constant state of inebriation was typical among members of the Military Police, so she was only putting herself on a level playing field. "Either way, I trust him. He and Langston were good friends back in their trainee days."

"Is that so?" Anton looked pensively toward the ceiling. "Am I going to get a chance to see Langston today? It's been several years, hasn't it?"

"He's supposed to stop by with Annie", Lara answered. "I sent the two of them to check on some phony disturbance, so after they've searched for a while and found nothing, they'll report back to me. You should probably be in position by that point."

"What a shame. In that case, I won't waste any time. Wish me luck."

"Here's to another small step on the road to our goals."

Anton and Lara drained the remaining contents of their glasses and proceeded to bump them against each other. With a sweeping toss of his massive coat, Anton Drake was gone.

"That man… I don't know what I'd do without him."

Lara had never expected herself to fall for someone like Anton, but the two of them hadn't been able to stop themselves. She was his world, and he was hers, and they had both vowed to do everything possible to protect their continued existence. That was why she needed power.

For five years, she had prepared for this day. The opportunity had fallen right into her lap, and all of the pieces were in place. The capture of the Female Titan would catapult her even higher into the Military Police's ranks. Not only that, but it would build upon her legend in the eyes of the people of Wall Sina, and that in itself was arguably even more important.

She heard a knock at the door. There had been so many knocks at so many doors, all leading up to this one. She called for the visitor to come in, trying her hardest to keep from smiling.

Annie Leonhardt entered the room, alone.

"It's good to see you, Annie." Lara only wished she knew how good it was. "I thought I sent Langston with you. Where has he run off to this time?"

Annie paused as she reached Lara's desk. The Captain could barely contain her excitement, but she was a bit concerned about her brother's absence. Because she had finally entrusted him with the truth, he was more of a wild card than ever before.

"Langston went to look around some more", Annie began. "He told me to come here alone."

"I see." It was an obvious lie, but Lara let it slide. She had more important things to discuss with the Female Titan. "So, how did the two of you fare? Were you successful in keeping order?"

Lara watched as Annie's eyes shifted around nervously, never looking the same way for more than a few seconds at a time. Was there a chance that she had found out about the plan? No, that was simply impossible. Langston would have done no such thing, she was sure of it. And even if Napoleon Pixis was a traitor, which Lara seriously doubted, there was no way that this girl would have been able to meet with him in the allotted time.

But why was she so jumpy?

"Captain Stendahl?"

"Yes, my apologies." Realizing that she had zoned out during Annie's account of the action, Lara waved her hand apologetically. "I've had a bit too much to drink. Surely you can understand."

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Actually, there is one more thing." This was it. All Lara had to do was deliver this news, and she could sit back and watch everything else unfold. "You have a visitor, Annie."

"A visitor?" Her eyes lit up with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"Yes, he says he's an old friend. Would you like to see him?"

Annie continued to squirm under Lara's passive gaze. What the hell was this girl's problem? Other than the fact that she was a Titan, of course.

"Sure", she finally replied apprehensively.

"Good, he must be getting tired of waiting." Lara rose to her feet, hardly able to keep herself still. "You can come in now", she called to the person on the other side of the door.

She watched with baited breath as Annie turned around and the door slowly swung open.

"It's been a while, Annie", said Nap Pixis.

_Hange, Year 850_

"What do you mean you can't let me in? I'm with the Survey Corps! I'm here to see Eren!"

"I'm sorry, sir." The guard held his ground, but he was clearly intimidated by the ferocious Squad Leader. "He's already had a lot of visitors today, and I-"

"Do you think I care?" Hange Zoe knew exactly how frightening she could be when she was angry, and she pitied this man because of it. "Those visitors have nothing to do with me. _I'm _here to see him now, so what's stopping you from letting me through?"

"When you put it that way, I-"

"Tell me, is there some other reason why I can't see him?"

After going out of her way to make the trip, Hange refused to be denied the chance to see her favorite Titan test subject. She hadn't been given the chance to question him about the events in the forest, and since he was going to be sent back to the interior the following day, there was no better opportunity for her to pick his brain than the one that lay before her. If Commander Erwin really was unable to retain him, this might end up being her last chance.

"Okay, I'll let you pass", said the guard, finally giving in and stepping aside.

"I'm glad we could come to an understanding." Hange returned to her usual carefree demeanor and passed by the officer, entering the room that housed the Titan shifter.

The dimly-lit room contained a single figure, lying facedown on the bed.

"How are you holding up, Eren?" Hange asked as the door remained open behind her. There was no response for a few moments, so she asked again. "Eren?" Driven by curiosity, Hange traversed the room before coming to a stop by the side of the bed. She looked over the body that was sprawled on top of it, finding something awfully strange.

"You look much shorter than I remember…"

Her words triggered a reaction from the room's other occupant, who sprung up from the bed, wearing a grimace caused by the unbearable annoyance she felt.

"You know I don't take too kindly to being called short, Squad Leader", growled Abigail Frauke as she removed her wig and allowed her blonde hair to fall down her neck.

"Abby…" Hange's face said it all. "Guard! Get in here?"

"What's the matter?" He asked, frantically racing into the room.

"Explain this! Where is Eren Jaeger?"

"I don't know", admitted the officer. "Up until now, I thought he was in here."

"How could you mistake this person for Eren?" Hange barked lividly. "She's a girl!"

"Not a very girly girl, to be fair."

"She has an eyepatch!"

"I thought it was a fashion statement."

Hange turned back toward Abigail, her rage having reached its peak.

"Tell me, what happened to Eren?"

_Nap and Annie, Year 850_

The pair of old friends walked in silence. There was nothing to say, so they said nothing. They had always avoided pointless chit chat whenever possible.

He consciously forced himself to keep his mask on. While every fiber of his being wanted to ask her one burning question, he had a job to do. If Annie was indeed going to transform into the Female Titan, he had to make sure she did it in the area where Lara had ordered the citizens to evacuate. From then on, it would be his job to contain her.

Nap's fingers itched. He wore his Maneuver Gear underneath his green raincoat, which he had donned because of an incoming storm from the south. At least, that was what he had told Annie. He was still unsure just how easily she could see through his lies, but he trusted himself.

"So, what brings you here?" Annie finally asked. She didn't even bother to slow her pace or look him in the eye. "I assume you're not just stopping by to say hi."

"You know me too well", Nap answered. He had prepared for this, along with everything else he could think of. "Have you heard about what's happening to Eren tomorrow?"

"He's being transferred back to the Inner District, right?"

"That's what the public thinks, yeah." This would be the first of many gambles Nap would take during this encounter. "The truth is, Eren's being brought here because Commander Smith believes he's discovered the identity of the Armored Titan that broke through Wall Maria."

Annie didn't break her stride or show any hint of emotion on her face, and that was exactly how Nap knew she was hiding something. He had more or less written the book on Annie Leonhardt. He knew her inside and out, or at least he had thought so until recently.

"He thinks it's someone in Stohess?" She asked innocently enough.

"That's right. Specifically, someone from the Military Police. A man who used to be in charge of the new recruits, if I'm not mistaken. His name is Caleb Lynch."

Nap had done exactly as Captain Stendahl had advised him. Using Lynch as a patsy had been her plan, and it turned out to be a good one. He was a man that Annie was acquainted with, yet not one that she had any reason to care about in the slightest.

"I don't think that Captain Lynch would be capable of such a thing." They were still passing by other people, so there was a long way to go. Nap had to make sure that if she indeed transformed, it was away from the civilians. "What made the Commander suspect him?"

"He didn't tell me any of the details." Nap had to drag out the conversation for as long as possible if he wanted to uncover Annie's true feelings. "I just know that there's a very legitimate suspicion surrounding Lynch, and the Commander plans to make his move tomorrow."

"Even with Captain Levi still recovering from his injury?"

That was it. Even in all of his preparations, he hadn't expected Annie to screw up so blatantly. Revealing her knowledge of Levi's injury was the dumbest thing she could have done in the moment, and Nap was surprised to say the least. Why was Annie being so careless?

"Commander Smith believes we'll be able to act quickly enough to capture him without needing to use force." Nap was close to boiling over with anger, but he needed to keep his cool until he was able to isolate her in a spot where no one else would be in harm's way.

"That's a bold strategy", Annie said, still keeping pace with the much taller Nap as they strolled through the roads of the city. "Let's see if it pays off."

"I'm sure you're still wondering why I bothered coming here today", Nap pressed on, keeping her on her metaphorical toes while they continued their mental chess match.

"It crossed my mind", she replied softly.

Nap had every reason to hate Annie's guts. She had pretended to be his friend for five years, during which he had revealed everything to her. There were things he hadn't even entrusted to his grandfather or Anka, but he had had no trouble letting Annie hear them all. And now he knew the truth. She had been playing him for a fool the entire time, but now it was his turn.

"I came here to request the assistance of the Military Police", he said in a statement that wasn't entirely false. "Specifically, you and Langston. Do you know where I can find him?"

It was only for a fraction of a second, but Annie's expression shifted. He had no idea what emotion it was that crossed her face, but there was something about the mention of Langston's name that brought about a distinct change in her demeanor.

"I haven't seen him today", she lied. When he had spoken with her earlier, Lara Stendahl had told Nap that Annie was assigned to a decoy case along with Langston. The Captain had specifically sent the boy that Nap had been surprised to find out was her younger brother. He would need to stop referring to him as Langston Pyrite as soon as possible.

"I see. I guess I'll have to track him down later." Nap wasn't sure why Annie would lie about such a trivial thing as Langston's whereabouts, but it made him all the more uneasy. "It's been awhile since I've seen him. And you, for that matter. We used to be practically inseparable."

Yes, they had been inseparable. Before he found out what she really was.

"We wanted different things out of life." Her head was still facing more toward the ground than toward the sky, which was growing increasingly full of clouds. Apparently Lara hadn't been lying about the storm. "You knew that going in, didn't you? We're just two very different people."

"Yeah, you're certainly right about that."

They had been walking together for almost an hour. Nap had begun to notice the lack of people around them, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before Annie began to pick up on it as well. He would have to act soon if he didn't want her to get suspicious.

"Do you ever miss the days before everything got so complicated?" Annie surprised Nap with the question, but he continued walking. "Back when we could just live our lives in peace…"

"I don't think our lives were ever very peaceful", he answered after a few seconds of thinking.

"Maybe not. But they were definitely a lot less complicated back then."

"Yeah, I'll agree with you on that." Nap couldn't contain himself any longer. There was no reason for him to do so, either. He had reached the optimal location to put his plan into action, so he had no further need to stall for time. Everything had fallen into place just as he had hoped.

"Hey, I just noticed something", said Annie. "We haven't seen any other people in a long time."

"You're right, we haven't." The two of them slowed down. "They're probably all hiding indoors. It looks like the storm that Captain Stendahl talked about is going to be here soon."

He wasn't sure if the Captain had truly been expecting the weather to conform to their plan, but the wind had already started to pick up. The clouds overhead had not yet shown any signs of rain, but they would make it a bit more difficult for him to fight.

"That must be it", she agreed quietly, returning to her normal pace while Nap continued slowly. Even at a snail's pace, he would never be too far behind Annie.

"You know, there's something I've wanted to ask ever since we started talking about our past."

"What's that?"

Nap's feet stopped. Every emotion in his body attempted to break out and consume him, but he ignored them all and asked the one question he had been dying to ask.

"Was any of it real?"


	19. Battle of Stohess Pt 1: Like Old Times

_Nap and Annie, Year 850_

"This is so incredibly boring."

It was the first thing Annie had said to him in awhile, but it was exactly what Nap himself had been thinking. After the first day of hand-to-hand combat training, the exercise had gotten ridiculously dull. The two of them hadn't even bothered to participate on that day.

Instead, they strolled through the field full of sparring trainees, watching out for any sign of Keith Shadis. Mina and Langston were going at it near the edge of the field, and Eren and Reiner were giving each other all they could handle not too far away from them. Hand-to-hand combat didn't count toward the final grades for the trainees, and those grades had been pretty much finalized anyway. Nap and Mikasa were battling it out for the top spot, with Annie a distant third.

Nap couldn't remember the last time he had truly enjoyed his life. He had been so wrapped up in fulfilling his destiny for the past five years that he had rarely stopped to consider what he himself wanted. That was what gave him the idea.

"Hey, Annie", he said to the girl who had become his closest friend. "Want to have some fun?"

She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and looked at him with a puzzled expression. He knew she was listening eagerly to whatever he had to say.

"It's been a long time since you and I have had a real fight", he continued.

"That's true." Nap could tell that she liked where this was going.

"What do you say? Let's give these people a show. Nap and Annie, like old times."

She nodded, and without another word the two old friends assumed their fighting stances. Nap had adopted his from Annie over the two years they had spent training with each other, but he had never been able to win against the girl who stood opposite him. Other trainees turned to watch as two of the standouts from their class prepared to duke it out to ease their boredom.

Nap hadn't had a legitimate fight with Annie since they began their training under Shadis. He had been starved for a challenge for almost three years, and now the two friends would be able to do battle once more. For the first time since his days training under his grandfather and Anka Rheinberger, Nap felt alive. He hadn't become a soldier for the sole purpose of fighting, but that definitely didn't mean that he didn't enjoy it. There was a certain thrill that had been missing from his life, one that could only be felt when he and Annie were going head to head.

Annie made the first move, and so began their dance of battle.

_Lara, Marlowe, and Hitch, Year 850_

Marlowe and Hitch looked on nervously as their superior skimmed over the papers that she had been handed. After a few agonizing minutes, Lara looked up sharply, causing both of her subordinates to flinch under her cold and merciless gaze.

"Are you sure these numbers are correct?" asked Captain Stendahl.

"Yes, sir", Marlowe replied quickly. "All military personnel are accounted for, with the exceptions of Caleb Lynch, Annie Leonhardt, and Langston Stendahl."

"That's odd." Lara tapped her knuckles on the desk in front of her. "I'm aware of the reason for Caleb and Annie's absences, but where could my brother have gone off to?"

"I could go look for him, if you want", suggested Hitch.

"It's good to see you showing some initiative for once", remarked the Captain. "However, that won't be necessary. You should both stay by my side for the time being."

"With all due respect, Captain, I believe we should report back to-"

"I'm your commanding officer, am I not?" Lara shut Marlowe up with the ultimate rhetorical question before standing up and looking the two of them straight in the eyes. "If you go out there now, it's likely that you'll be killed. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"Killed?" Hitch was understandably startled by this statement. "What's going on out there?"

Lara sat back down behind her desk, her legs spread wide and her fingers laced underneath her chin. It was a position of power that no one could have pulled off better than her. The moment she had waited so long for was drawing ever nearer. It was only natural that she would be excited by the notion that she was one step closer to achieving her goal.

"Stohess is about to become a battlefield", she said with a pleasured grin.

_Nap and Annie, Year 850_

"Was any of it real?"

Annie didn't even bother to turn around and look him in the eye. She stood with her hands at her sides, only a short distance in front of him, as the clouds continued to gather overhead.

"I'm not sure what you mean", she said softly.

"Cut the crap, Annie." Nap could barely keep his rage from boiling over. "Those five years we spent together. The time I considered you to be my best friend. Was any of it real?"

She turned and faced him, slowly, while maintaining her distance. Her face was partially covered by her pale blonde hair, but Nap felt as though he could see right through her.

"I still don't know what you want me to say, Nap."

"I want you to tell me the truth for once in your life."

Annie looked up at him, wearing the all-encompassing mask that he had grown to despise.

"You already know the truth, don't you?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

She was baiting him, forcing him into a corner just as he had been hoping to do to her. He now had no choice but to reveal what he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Annie, why are you a Titan?"

"Come on, Nap. You can't just ask a girl why she's a Titan."

Nap gritted his teeth as he examined the pathetically fake look of innocence that adorned her face. He had known even before speaking with her that his suspicions had not been false, but Annie was not doing herself any favors by toying with him like this.

"From the very start… You knew what I was, didn't you?"

"I can't say I know what you're talking about."

"I'm getting sick of your shit, Female Titan."

For the first time since Nap had known her, Annie laughed. He had seen her smile, and perhaps heard her giggle a few times, but never before had she shown him what it was like to see her laugh. Nap wasn't pleased by the results at all.

"Nap… I'm sorry, but you really are hopeless."

"So you're not going to answer any of my questions?" Nap took a couple of desperate steps toward her. He was close enough to touch her, but he held back. The two of them remained in their pacified state, though their battle had begun a long time ago.

"Would it really change anything if I did?" Annie answered his question with one of her own.

"So be it." With a look of utter disdain on his face, Nap pulled back his raincoat and drew the twin blades at his sides. "From here on out, you're dead to me."

Annie's laughter had ceased, but the haunting smile had not vanished from her face.

"You don't really mean that. It's your Titan side speaking."

"No, that's not it. For the first time, I'm saying exactly what I mean."

Annie's last sentence gnawed at the back of his mind. He had never told her of his powers, but she somehow knew about them. Yet another one of his suspicions had been proven right.

"Just give me one reason", he said softly, before raising his voice for the second part. "Give me one reason why I should let you live. I'll listen to whatever you say. I don't want to fight you."

Annie continued to toy with him. She reached out a hand and smiled innocently. "Let's just talk this over, Nap. Friend to-" Before she was finished, Nap made his move.

He had told her that he was saying exactly what he meant, and that was the undeniable truth. Nap could feel the same rush that he had experienced when he and Mikasa fought the Female Titan in the forest, and that feeling guided his movements like the conductor of an orchestra.

Faster than Annie could react, he lashed out with his right hand, stabbing her in the gut with his flesh-paring blade. Blood sprayed from the wound as the blade emerged from her back, but the weapon kept most of the girl's fluids from leaking out. Annie's smile was instantly wiped off her face and replaced with a look of complete and utter horror. She doubled over in shock, and Nap brought back his arm, pulling the sword out of the despicable Titan's body.

"I know that won't phase you very much", Nap lamented a bit too callously for someone who had just skewered his closest friend. "Your body regenerates itself, after all. But the satisfaction that I feel in this moment… There's nothing that compares to it."

Steam rose from the already-healing wound that continued to ooze blood. Annie fell to her knees, still unable to speak. Nap stood over her, his eyes cold and unwavering, not betraying the stinging pain that he felt in his heart. He hadn't expected it to be easy, but there was nothing that could have appropriately prepared him for this.

"Why aren't you transforming? Get up and give me a real fight, Female Titan!"

She coughed up a mouthful of blood. The damage that he had done to her organs would heal itself soon, but her psyche appeared to be thoroughly impaired.

"I said get up, dammit!"

Nap raised his leg furiously and kicked Annie square in the side of the head. She crumpled to the ground as soon as his boot made contact with her skull. The girl's body shook as if she had caught hypothermia. It was quite possibly the most pathetic sight Nap had ever seen.

"All those years of training together, and I never beat you, not even once. Is this really how you want me to get my first victory? Are you really going to let me win so easily?"

He brought his foot down on top of her head, crushing it into the pavement with all of his considerable might. If that was what it took to get her to fight him for real, then so be it. He would use as much force as was necessary, because he knew she would have done the same.

"Nap…"

"Finally going to say something, are you?"

Nap lifted his leg up as Annie made a sad attempt to rise to her feet. He watched her stumble around like a child trying to walk for the first time, before she finally managed to stand. Her abdomen was painted red with her own blood, and her shirt was slowly becoming the same color as his. Nap prepared himself for a counterattack, but it never came.

"You asked if any of it was real…" Her words came slowly, partially due to the blood clogging her throat, but Nap understood them clearly and continued to listen. "It was. All of it."

"I believe you." The sad part was, he actually did. "But that doesn't change anything."

These words succeeded in bringing a more peaceful look into Annie's eyes, as her wound was nearing complete regeneration. She stood only a short distance in front of Nap and looked him in the eyes. After the steam around her stomach began to dissipate, she smiled again.

The old friends stared at each other, their eyes doing all the talking and speaking only the truth. There had been so many lies that it was refreshing for them to finally be honest with each other, even when that honesty came at a time like this. Nap and Annie stood, smiling at one another, suspended in their own private world, before the Female Titan broke the illusion with her words.

"What do you say, Nap? Want to have some fun?"

Nap was flung back by the force that emanated from his best friend as she used her existing injuries as fuel to manifest her Titan form. He anchored himself in place between two buildings using his Maneuver Gear, and began to prepare for the fight that was in store for him.

The Female Titan materialized among the unoccupied houses of northern Stohess. The beast appeared to be slightly shorter than it was when Nap had seen it in the forest, but he passed it off as a minor variation. His full attention at that moment needed to be directed toward his plan. He would fight his best friend in her Titan form, and he absolutely had to win.

He was as familiar with Annie's fighting style as he could have possibly been, but he had only seen her fight all-out against opponents of similar size. During her first battle with the Levi Squad, she was inexplicably helpless to do anything. That hadn't been the case the second time around, seeing as how she managed to kill three skilled soldiers relatively easily. However, Nap had been incapacitated during that fight, thanks to Eren having his own agenda.

Thus, the only fight that he could truly learn anything from was the war that he and Mikasa had waged in an effort to retrieve Eren from the Female Titan's clutches. But even that fight had seemed strangely easy to Nap at the time, and though that may have been simply due to his and Mikasa's impeccable teamwork, he had to make sure not to let his guard down.

All of his planning went out the window when Annie turned tail and began to run toward the wall.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Nap yelled as he activated his Maneuver Gear and began to chase after her, weaving through the houses and utilizing his unmatched speed. The buildings in their current area had all been evacuated by Lara's subordinates, but the houses further to the north still contained people. Nap had to catch her before she reached that area.

He skimmed over the ground, barely managing to avoid the chunks of rubble that came from a house that Annie brushed her arm against. It was unlikely that he would have been so lucky a second time, so he redoubled his efforts and managed to lodge one of his hooks in the Female Titan's left ankle. With a rebel yell, he drew back his blades and moved in for the strike.

Annie's constant movement allowed her to avoid taking more than a small, inconsequential hit, but Nap's blow was enough to make her stop in her tracks. He maneuvered through the space between her legs before coming down on the ground on the other side, directly in her path, as he looked up into the daunting face of the Female Titan.

"You're going to fight me right here. You won't get away that easily."

Captain Stendahl had told him that most of the buildings in northern Stohess were tall, and Nap could now see for himself that she had been correct. For this reason, Lara had suggested it to him as an ideal location to do battle with the Female Titan. Just as he had done with the trees in the forest, he used the surrounding houses to swing around his opponent, faster than her eyes could follow him, or so he hoped. As soon as an opening appeared, he made his move.

With the Female Titan's head turned to her left, Nap circled around to her right and propelled himself across her chest, slicing open the area where her heart should have been.

Annie adjusted quickly, swatting at him with a hand that had been crystallized thanks to her hardening powers. Nap contorted his body in an attempt to avoid the strike, but it still managed to brush against his right leg. Doing everything he could to keep from spinning out of control, he landed awkwardly on a house several meters away from the enemy.

Her assault wasn't anywhere close to finished. The Female Titan hardened her other hand and plunged it into the roof Nap had come down on, coming close to flattening the boy before he could leap out of the way and swing himself over to the opposite side of the street. Already it was becoming clear to him just how worn-out this Titan had been when he and Mikasa fought her in the forest. In this moment, he was no match for her. But that wouldn't stop him.

His best friend charged at him again, employing the same strategy, but Nap wasn't one to fall for the same trick twice. He leapt onto Annie's outstretched Titan arm and tore through its flesh with his blades as he made his way straight past the side of her head. From his new vantage point, it was only a short distance to the nape of her neck. Nap's goal was not to kill Annie, but he could still do some damage to her by striking at it in the right spot.

Nap quickly found out just how horribly he was still underestimating the Female Titan.

He didn't even see Annie's arm move, but before he could reach her neck, she was able to trap him inside of her inescapable grasp. With his arms pinned to his sides, Nap was helpless to cut himself free from the Female Titan's hand as she slowly brought him down and held him out in front of her, staring at him with the same wicked smile he had seen earlier on her human face.

"What are you waiting for?" Nap asked the grinning monstrosity that held him captive. "Are you going to kill me or not? Surely you could've done it already."

Annie continued to leer at him, smiling just as she had done on the day the two of them had met. Nap hadn't found it to be strange at the time, but now he knew better. Their friendship had not come by chance, and the two of them certainly had not met by accident. Annie had come into his life for a reason, and he needed to keep her alive if he wanted to find out what it was.

There were so many secrets, so many lies, and so many things that Nap still could not understand. As he looked up into the Female Titan's cold blue eyes, he began to feel more and more helpless. Even after all he had done to become stronger, he was still no match for Annie, and if he couldn't even defeat a single Titan, there was no way he was savior material. The destiny that he had inherited from his mother would never be fulfilled if he was unable to win this battle. But how could he fight all-out against someone who meant so much to him? He had been able to do so in the forest, but that had only been because of…

"Now!"

Nap only had time to utter the single word before a multicolored blur shot through his field of vision. Within an instant, the hand that was holding him was severed from the Female Titan's body and Nap was finally able to wrench himself free. He landed on a roof and looked to his left, happy to see the one person who could anchor him in reality when confronting Annie.

"It didn't take you very long to pay me back", he called out to the girl with the red scarf. "I guess we're even now, right Mikasa?"

"We'll see about that", she answered, replacing the blades that had been dulled from her all-out strike. "First, let's worry about killing her."

He nodded and turned back toward Annie, watching her face light up in horror as Armin and Eren appeared on the roof alongside Mikasa. The Female Titan's hand had already begun to regenerate, but it didn't appear to be moving as fast as it should have been. Perhaps the pilot's distraction was playing a role, but the thought left Nap's mind as quickly as it had entered.

"We've been itching to get in on the action, too", Miranda remarked, coming down on the roof to Nap's right along with Jean. "I still need to pay you back for killing my horse, Annie."

The Female Titan turned her head from left to right, examining the six determined soldiers who had once been her comrades. Now, they were the ones who were bent on taking her down, and none was more focused than the boy who had thought of her as his best friend.

"Annie, did you really believe I'd come at you alone?" Nap yelled, his jet-black hair flapping about in the wind that had gradually started to pick up. "How stupid do you think I am?" The Female Titan's hand completed its reparation, and she began to move her fingers about.

Nap scowled. "It's about time I started winning some of our fights, don't you think?"

_Commander Erwin and Franziska, Year 850_

Franziska Drake held her breath during the long pause as the Commander looked over the paperwork that he had been handed. She saw no change in his stoic demeanor, until he lowered his hand and addressed her once again.

"You've done some excellent work, Franziska."

She crossed her arms. "It's nice to have some live patients for a change", she admitted.

Erwin nodded understandingly. Franziska wasn't the most social creature in the world, but even she could feel the charisma that oozed from the leader of the Survey Corps. She understood well just what made people like Levi and Petra follow this man into battle time and time again.

"Are you sure Petra is in fighting condition?" Erwin asked, more as a formality than anything.

"You might want to ease her back in at first, but I'm not sure she'll take too kindly to that."

"I was thinking along the same lines." The Commander handed the papers back to the doctor. "But we need all of the quality soldiers we can get, and Petra certainly qualifies as that. I'm sure you're aware of the dismal state that my regiment appears to be in at the moment."

"I've heard a thing or two." The perpetual frown that adorned Franziska's face was rather fitting at that moment. "Are you really going to let them take Jaeger from you without a fight?"

"We may not have a choice", he acknowledged grimly.

"That doesn't sound like the Erwin Smith I know." She adjusted her thick-rimmed glasses and examined the Commander. This wasn't the first time Dr. Drake had done business with the Survey Corps, and it certainly would not be the last. Normally her work only involved cadavers, but she had willingly accepted the last two requests that the Commander had made.

"Don't get the wrong idea", Erwin replied, his eyes shining in a way that reminded Franziska of her sister long ago. "Humanity's vanguard is far from dead. If Eren is indeed taken away from us, we'll simply have to regroup and do everything we can to bring him back. And if it comes to-"

"Commander Erwin!"

Franziska looked up and Erwin turned to watch as a dark-haired young man wearing a Survey Corps uniform rushed down the hall toward them. He stopped, out of breath and clutching his knees, just in front of the Commander and the doctor.

"What is it, Moise?" Erwin asked, knowing that whatever it was, it was urgent.

"The Female Titan has been spotted in Stohess", panted the man named Moise. Erwin and Franziska both reacted to the news in character. "She appears to be fighting a handful of soldiers from our regiment, in the northern part of the city."

"Was this part of your plan, Erwin?" Franziska asked curiously.

"No, I had no idea…" The Commander's eyes narrowed, but his brain continued to churn out a response. Franziska had heard many tales about his work under pressure, but it was more impressive in person. "Moise, find Mike and Hange. Tell them to head for Stohess immediately."

"Yes, sir", replied the young man before scuttling off to perform this task.

"Looks like things have already been set in motion", remarked the doctor.

"So it does." Despite the revelations of the past minute, Erwin Smith appeared just as confident as ever. "Would you care to accompany me to Stohess, Franziska? You might be able to help some of our injured soldiers. I'm sure there will be plenty by the time this battle is over."

"Thanks, but I'll pass", she replied with a frown and a wave of her hand. Franziska's resting bitch face was more appropriate than ever in that scenario. "I'm a civilian, not a soldier. I wouldn't know where to begin. Besides, someone needs to stay here and keep Levi company, right?"

"Suit yourself", said the Commander as he turned away and began his journey to Stohess.

_Nap, Year 850_

Nap was feeling as close to full strength as he ever had when in his Titan-esque state. He felt none of the conflicting emotions that had plagued him in the forest, and the nausea that came with his transformation hadn't yet infiltrated his mindset. The only thought that reverberated throughout his brain was the one that had been with him since that day in the woods.

He had to stop the Female Titan and find out what the hell was going on.

"Don't let her leave this area", he called out to the five other soldiers who were also engaged with the enemy. Although Annie was proving to be a formidable opponent even for all six of them combined, it was clear that fighting was not her intention. She was attempting to flee at every opportunity, and Nap would do everything it took not to give her any more chances.

That was proving to be much easier said than done. He and Mikasa had been able to take her on in the forest, but back then the Female Titan had been worn out from her battles with Eren and the Levi Squad. Now, Annie was at full strength, and without Eren in his Titan form, Nap wasn't sure they had much of a chance at all.

When he explained his plan to Eren and Armin, he had told them to avoid conflict if possible. Armin was present mainly for his strategic mind, and Eren was their ace in the hole. But Nap doubted the Titan shifter's ability to fight against Annie, and because of that it was up to him, Mikasa, Jean, and Miranda to do as much damage to the enemy as they could.

Moving as fast as his Maneuver Gear could carry him, Nap managed to gouge out one of the Female Titan's eyes with his blades before swinging away from her. Miranda moved in for a strike on the other eye, but Annie hardened her skin and tilted her head at the same time, causing the girl's blades to shatter harmlessly against the Titan's cheek. Still, she was able to retreat in time, and with the enemy now blind in one eye, their task was slightly easier.

"That was close", Miranda remarked, switching out her broken blades for a pair of new ones as Nap stood next to her, unsure of how to go about attacking their foe.

"We can't do any real damage if she keeps hardening her skin", growled the golden-eyed boy. "But even she can't dodge an attack if she can't see it coming. Our best bet is to take out her other eye. That'll at least buy us some time to make a more significant hit."

"That might work", she agreed, shifting from left to right as she watched Mikasa angrily lash out at the Female Titan, making a small dent in the monster's left wrist before drawing back and landing beside Jean. "Just remember, she can focus her regenerative powers on whatever area she wants. That means she won't be blind for very long."

"Right." Nap studied the Female Titan's movements as she charged toward the two of them. He and Miranda were positioned on a building that was roughly the same height as their enemy, with Eren and Armin on the roof directly behind theirs and Jean and Mikasa right across the street. In this position, Annie was leaving her back turned to their comrades on the other side.

Nap and Miranda leapt to opposite sides as the Female Titan plunged her fist into the building, causing bits of the roof to fly out into the sky along with the two soldiers. While he spun through the air to avoid the fragments of wood and plaster, he locked eyes with Mikasa as she used the opportunity to launch herself toward Annie's exposed backside, drawing her blades back.

The world slowed down for Nap just as it had when he was soaring toward the crawling Titan in Trost. He was able to clearly follow every single movement made by both Annie and Mikasa as he drifted backward toward an unoccupied roof. Mikasa lunged toward the Titan's neck, and she appeared to have a clean strike. Annie still had not regained use of her left eye, and Mikasa's attack was placed perfectly in the Female Titan's blind spot.

For this reason, Nap was surprised to see his old friend crack a smile.

His face grew wide with terror as he realized exactly what was unfolding in front of him. Annie whirled around and swatted Mikasa out of the air before Nap could warn her of the trick that the Titan was trying to play. He let out a pained yell as the girl he adored was thrown into the facade of a building before falling to the ground. With his blood boiling, he reactivated his Maneuver Gear and launched a hook straight into the Female Titan's shoulder.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her!" Nap shouted, though it was a little too late for that. When it came to choosing between Annie and Mikasa, there was quite literally no decision to be made. He had to protect the girl who continued to fight alongside him, and so he shot through the air of Stohess toward the arm that had just knocked Mikasa to the ground.

The Female Titan raised her hand in an attempt to defend herself, but Nap equalled her speed and sliced off two of her fingers. He pushed through and came face to face with the enemy, his sights now set on her one remaining eye. But Annie had succeeded in slowing him down just enough so that she was able to close her eye and harden her eyelid, forcing him to abort.

Nap drew back, avoiding the Titan's left hand with relative ease. He retreated to the roof where Miranda and Jean had set up shop, and began to plan his next move.

"How are we supposed to land a hit?" Jean growled, clenching his fists tightly.

"Try not to get so worked up, Jean", Miranda advised. "This is our third date, you know. I want you to save some energy for the nightcap."

"Cut the crap, Miranda! Can't you just be serious for one moment in your-"

"Hey, Annie!"

Nap's eyes were drawn toward Armin as the blonde boy's outburst cut off Jean and caught the attention of the humans as well as the Titan. Armin remained standing on the same roof as before, wearing a familiar expression that made him look as though he was trying to put on a brave face but was really about two seconds away from wetting his pants. But rather than what was present on Armin's face, Nap paid closer attention to what was missing from the picture.

Eren no longer stood beside his oldest friend.

Annie seemed to notice this just as quickly as Nap did, and both of them turned their heads to the only logical spot where Eren could have gone. Sure enough, the Titan shifter had used his Maneuver Gear to haul Mikasa onto a still-intact roof, and he was now looking her over for injuries. Armin had been trying to distract the Female Titan, but his plan was now backfiring.

"Eren, get out of there!" Nap screamed as he jumped into the fray again. As was the case with Mikasa earlier, he was too late to make a difference. Eren looked up, but it would have been impossible for him to move out of the way in time to save both himself and Mikasa. The Crimson Arrow shot straight for the rooftop where the two of them were positioned. It was easy for him to tell that the girl was conscious, but she was obviously in no shape to be moving around.

Nap was fast, but so was Annie. If he was going to beat her to the spot, he was going to have to target either Eren or Mikasa, and not both. Getting greedy would get all three of them killed, but if Nap timed it right, he would be able to pull one of them out of the way. He gritted his teeth and dove for the rooftop, making up his mind and sticking with his choice.

He grasped the scarf around Mikasa's neck and pulled her off the roof, less than an instant before the Female Titan broke through the ceiling with a hardened fist. Her dark red accessory began to unravel itself, but it held on long enough for Nap to get a better grip on her.

"Are you crazy?" Mikasa hissed as Nap skidded to a stop on the roof of a nearby building and turned to examine the wreckage he left behind. "Why didn't you save Eren?"

"It was either you or him", Nap explained candidly. His face was burning up, but it felt completely dry and free from sweat. "Eren can regenerate his body if he gets injured, and Annie needs him alive. That made you the obvious choice."

She growled at him again but didn't put up a fight. Even so, he could tell that she was thoroughly pissed. He would have been too, if the situation was different. But at the present time, he had four people other than Eren he needed to worry about.

"How bad are your injuries?" Nap asked as he examined her body for the millionth time.

"I'm fine", replied Mikasa, though she had clearly seen better days. "We should focus on Eren."

"That always seems to be your go-to response", he replied saltily.

"Is this really the time for that?"

He bit his tongue and turned his attention back to the battlefield. Jean and Miranda had reentered the arena, and they were doing their best to keep the Female Titan busy while Armin attempted to retrieve Eren's body from the ruined house. Nap was once again thankful for Lara Stendahl and the faith that she had shown in him. It was because of her cooperation that they were able to fight against Annie without risking the lives of civilians.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just not in the best of moods."

"That doesn't matter. We need a new strategy, since this one isn't exactly working."

Nap had been thinking the same thing, but his thoughts were too jumbled up to be of any use to him. He had fought against Annie hundreds of times before, but never like this. She was putting on a clinic, and he was at a complete disadvantage even with his five comrades backing him up.

"Let's go", Mikasa said after Nap had been silent for a few seconds. She moved to stand up on her feet, and immediately regretted it.

"Mikasa!" Nap blurted out as she winced in pain and fell to a kneeling position, grabbing her right knee. "Don't move. You're in no shape to be fighting."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Mikasa shouted at him, making a second attempt to stand that netted the same result. "I have to… I have to help Eren!"

"You won't be able to help him if you get yourself killed", he said bluntly, kneeling beside her while keeping one eye on the Titan that was still battling his two friends. To their credit, Jean and Miranda were holding their own against Annie, for the time being at least.

"He's all I have left… I need to help him… I care about him…"

"That's a load of crap. We all care about him. That's why we came here in the first place. But did you ever stop to think that maybe we also care about you?"

She looked up at him, her eyes as wide as he had ever seen them. The two loners stared at each other, his eyes as bright as the sun, hers as dark as the night. He was pleased to see a glimmer of understanding in them. Nap nodded comfortingly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's trust Eren and the others. We should come up with another strategy, like you said."

_Miranda and Jean, Year 850_

"Sheesh, Annie's sure gotten a lot more annoying since the last time we fought her."

"You can say that again", Jean spat out through gritted teeth as he narrowly avoided another kick from the Female Titan's mighty leg.

Armin was still trying to pull Eren out from the rubble that he was trapped under, and Nap was busy tending to Mikasa's injuries, so it was up to the two of them to keep Annie from getting away. They were near the edge of the area that Captain Stendahl had evacuated, and they had already caught glimpses of spectators watching from a seemingly safe distance. Miranda could only hope that they'd keep out of harm's way. She had enough people to worry about as it was.

They landed side by side on a roof directly between the Female Titan and the wall that she was desperately trying to reach. Annie was more interested in getting away than fighting, but that did nothing to weaken her resolve as a warrior. Miranda and Jean were fighting at full strength, yet they still couldn't come close to landing a significant blow on the monster in front of them.

The Female Titan charged at them, trying to take out the last two opponents who remained standing in her way. Miranda nodded at Jean, and the unlikely pair took off toward Annie's left side, away from her dominant right hand. This strategy gave them only a slightly better chance of survival, but any glimmer of hope was worth it when facing an enemy like Annie Leonhardt.

Miranda lodged one of her hooks in the center of the Titan's back, ducking under Annie's arm as she did so. She and Jean had fought the Female Titan once before, along with Bertolt, but they had learned very little from the short encounter. Still, Miranda knew a good deal more about the Titans than she let on, and she made every attempt to use this to her advantage.

She had taken a brief moment to explain her idea to Jean, and though it was little more than a shot in the dark, he had agreed to try it. She had planned to strike at the Titan's spine, causing Annie to harden her skin, before Jean went in for a crippling blow immediately afterward.

The Invisible Soldier had hypothesised that unlike the Armored Titan, Annie was unable to harden her skin for long periods of time. Thus, if she were to crystallize a certain part of her body, she would have to let up after a few seconds, leaving her vulnerable to an attack. There was no way of knowing if her plan would work, but it was the only option she could think of, save for manifesting her own Titan. But there was no way she could do that to herself ever again.

Miranda's blades made contact with the Titan's hardened body and shattered into a dozen pieces before Annie's patch of armor peeled away like dead skin. The girl with the dark brown bangs used her feet to propel herself away from the Female Titan so that Jean could do his damage. She looked back at the spot, but the boy she adored was missing.

Frantically, Miranda spun around in midair, trying to locate Jean Kirstein. She let out a gasp as she spotted him, lying facedown on a roof directly across the street from the building where Armin was still busy with Eren. She knew immediately that the Female Titan had seen right through her plans, just as she had been doing since their very first battle.

"Jean!"

She made a beeline for Jean's immobile body and landed in front of him, shielding the helpless horse-faced boy from the onslaught of Annie, who was only a couple of steps away from bringing down the hammer on them both. Miranda looked to her left and her right, but there was no one capable of helping her. Nap and Mikasa were too far away to reach her in time, and Armin was peering at her over the Female Titan's shoulder with a horrified look on his face as Eren continued to lie unconscious on what remained of the building's roof. Miranda could hear her own heartbeat. She had no blades and nobody was coming to her rescue.

Tears filled Miranda's eyes as the Female Titan stood over her, grinning wickedly while the fingers on her damaged hand finished repairing themselves. There was no other choice. Miranda dreaded becoming that monster again, but she was all out of options. If she wanted to save Jean, she had to put her own selfish feelings aside and fight at full strength.

Miranda Sieyes raised her hand to her mouth and prepared to bite down.

Her hand hovered between her teeth for a second, but that was all the time it took for her decision to be rendered obsolete by the appearance of a green flash, mixed with bits of orange and white, slashing at the Female Titan's ankles and causing her to fall to her knees.

Before Miranda knew it, there was a new figure standing in front of her on the rooftop, blades covered in Annie's blood, wearing the emblem of the Survey Corps boldly on her green cloak. Miranda had seen this woman in the past, but never before had she looked this awe-inspiring.

"So, you're the one who killed my squad", said Petra Ral. "How about I return the favor?"


End file.
